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Friday, July 25, 2008

Team wins multiple awards

In addition to winning the 2008 North American Solar Challenge, our
team won a few other awards. With hundreds of team members, family
members, and sponsors in attendance at the awards ceremony this past
Wednesday, a wonderful meal and ceremony were put on at the Calgary Zoo by
SolarWorld, The University of Calgary, and NASC.

Many awards were given including observer awards and 15 other
important awards that range from best mechanical system to the spirit
of the event award.

The observers award each team with one "paper-plate" humor style
award. This year our team was awarded a "Divining Rod" for our
persistence in finding water at almost each charging location. Our
divining rod is made up of two sticks taped to a third that will point
the user in the direction of a body of water. Hopefully this will be
useful in Australia this upcoming October! By finding any natural
pond, puddle, lake, we were able to dramatically increase the amount
of energy we were able to capture. This helped us to fill our battery pack
multiple times throughout the race.

As for the main awards from NASC, we were given two of the 15 awards.
In addition to winning the 2008 North American Solar Challenge, our
team was awarded the teamwork award. The officials presented this
award to us because of the incredible sense of team and responsibility
that each team member showed throughout the entire event. Dan Eberle,
Race Organizer, explained that he saw team members who knew what they
were doing at all times and were respectful and attentive to what
needed to be done. In addition, the general team attitude was viewed
as being healthy and relaxed while paying special attention to every
detail. This award means quite a bit to the team. Team work has
always been an issue that this team has dealt with and has been
something we have worked hard to achieve over the past year. By
running hundreds of drills and spending many days of testing on the
open road, our team was able to embody the meaning of this award.

Winning the North American Solar Challenge twice in a row is something
this team has been unable to achieve since 1990 and 1993. This,
coupled with the teamwork award, shows the renewed emphasis of members
spanning multiple projects. Congrats to all Michigan Solar Car
members, alumni, sponsors, family, and friends.

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

We can't say enough...great teamwork.

Bob Hayes

July 25, 2008 at 8:39 PM  
Blogger Brian Ignaut said...

Great work, Team. You've raised the bar for all future generations of UMSolar raycers. Go Blue!

July 25, 2008 at 8:56 PM  
Blogger Peter said...

Great run, Team. I couldn't agree more with Brian. Continuum's win raises the bar indeed, which means everyone will be looking for the same spirit this fall and in future races to come. I wish you great success in transferring your lessons and knowledge as you pass the torch.

Go Blue!

Peter Balogh

July 27, 2008 at 8:34 PM  
Blogger Kempton said...

Congrats for the great work.

I interviewed some of the U of Michigan team members in Calgary, here is my blog entry and edited video clip,
http://kempton.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/u-of-michigan-2008-solar-challenge-video/

And here is a blog entry and video clip of some sights and sound in Calgary,
http://kempton.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/2008-solar-challenge-with-sunrise/

Please pass on to the solar car team members as you see fit.

Cheers.

August 4, 2008 at 11:11 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great Work done bye this team amazing ....

October 20, 2008 at 9:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The key to future success in the automotive industry lies in understanding its current tumultuous state and planning for a stronger industry—where the competition will remain fierce but the environment will have stabilized.
Great Teamwork! The hope of our future.

October 26, 2008 at 12:48 PM  

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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Media Post

As the team travels back to Ann Arbor there are news articles sprouting up everywhere about the race and Michigan's victory. If you find a news article please post it as a comment to this post for everyone to see and also so the team can have an accurate record of all media coverage. Please keep comments on this post to media only.

Thanks!

12 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

From Google News...

http://www.wwj.com/UM-Makes-It-Five-Solar-Race-Wins/2653191

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2008/07/24/news/state/160825.txt

http://wkzonews.blogspot.com/2008/07/solar-race-won-by-michigan-team.html

http://apps.michigandaily.com/blogs/thewire/?p=425

July 24, 2008 at 4:55 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

A bunch of stuff...

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=ln&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&ncl=1229038752

July 24, 2008 at 5:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The NASC 2008 room of fanfeed has a lot of media refs stuck among the blog posts

July 24, 2008 at 6:05 PM  
Blogger Elson said...

Some photos from Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/searchpopup?picId=5274738
http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/searchpopup?picId=5275681
http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/searchpopup?picId=5275679
http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/searchpopup?picId=5275647

Story from the Canadian Press (the Canadian equivalent of the Associated Press):
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jFkem48dw9fTEznIJByztEuH-vxA

July 24, 2008 at 7:30 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

UMich main page, quotes from Mary Sue Coleman

Cbc.ca

Environment News Service

Detroit Free Press

SustainableBusiness.com

July 24, 2008 at 7:44 PM  
Blogger Furqan Nazeeri said...

There are a lot of articles posted at http://friendfeed.com/rooms/nasc-2008

July 24, 2008 at 11:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

From Anne:

http://www.wired.com/cars/coolwheels/news/2008/07/solar_race

http://www.thingsaregood.com/2008/07/23/michigan-wins-solar-car-race/

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080722/technology/technology_solar_championship

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080723/solar_car_080723/20080723?hub=SciTech

July 25, 2008 at 6:33 AM  
Blogger Brian Ignaut said...

Here's a CNN spot on the race, though they do not mention Michigan specifically.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2008/07/15/roesgen.solar.cars.cnn?iref=videosearch

July 25, 2008 at 11:30 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/07/25/michigan.solar.car/index.html

July 25, 2008 at 5:30 PM  
Blogger Wisniewski said...

Canadian Solar Car Special. Focus on Calgary with many pictures, interviews, and videos of Michigan throughout the rayce.

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080715/CGY_solar_special_080715/20080715/?hub=CalgaryHome

July 30, 2008 at 1:05 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This highlights the parade in Morris.
http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080722/CGY_solar_blog_080722/20080722?hub=CalgaryHome

July 30, 2008 at 10:51 AM  
Blogger ashley said...

The article that Alexandre linked to on CNN (which came from the Daily) is currently one of the headlines on the front page of CNN. =)

July 31, 2008 at 5:23 PM  

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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The Five-time National Champions!

According to the Team, they have just passed inspection and crossed the finish line. Congratulations to everyone!



More details to follow.

73 Comments:

Blogger Brian Ignaut said...

Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan
The leaders and best!
Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan,
The champions of the West!

July 22, 2008 at 3:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations team on bringing home another National Championship! A 9-hour lead over the competition -- quite impressive! The years of hard work have paid off. Way to go!

-Michael '05

July 22, 2008 at 3:38 PM  
Blogger Charles Eichhorst said...

Congratulations team! I'm proud to have been a part of this victory.

July 22, 2008 at 3:38 PM  
Blogger Frederic Barthelemy said...

Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan
The leaders and best!
Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan,
The champions of the West!

Go Blue! (Everyone sing along!)

July 22, 2008 at 3:38 PM  
Blogger Furqan Nazeeri said...

Go Blue! Well done team. You've done yourselves, your sponsors, your school and alumni well!

July 22, 2008 at 3:40 PM  
Blogger Elson said...

Good job, team! Go Blue!

July 22, 2008 at 3:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It has all been said already...but can't be repeated too much: Hail to the Victors Valiant, Leaders and the Best! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

July 22, 2008 at 3:43 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Congratulations! I'm proud to have been of assistance and my company is a very proud sponsor. Thanks - now go try some local beer. :)

-Robert Vogt IV
Head Strategist '03 & '05
Principal Engineer
Caflor Industries

July 22, 2008 at 3:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Since its the end of a sporting event, you also need to throw in "Yellow and Blue"

Sing to the colors that float in the light;
Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue!
Yellow the stars as they ride through the night
And the reel in a rollicking crew;
Yellow the fields where ripens the grain
And yellow the moon on the harvest wain;
Hail!
Hail to the colors that float in the light
Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue!

Blue are the billows that bow to the sun
When yellow robed morning is due.
Blue are the curtains that evening has spun
The slumbers of Phoebus to woo;
Blue are the blossoms to memory dear
And blue is the sapphire and gleams like a tear;
Hail!
Hail to the ribbons that nature has spun'
Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue!

July 22, 2008 at 3:48 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

You guys rock! We all knew this car was this good, and you finally proved it once and for all. Here's to everyone who helped design, build, fund, support, and race this fine product of Michigan talent and spirit (I'm toasting with cold coffee, being at work, but it will be with something more potent when I get home). Hail to the Victors!

July 22, 2008 at 3:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations all! A job well done by each and every one of you. I'm proud of the team.
This is even better than kicking some butt in the BCS championship game.
It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine!
Go Blue!

July 22, 2008 at 3:51 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Congratulations Michigan! It has been so much fun to read your blog and watch your success. Have fun celebrating in Calgary. From the mom of a Principia team member.

July 22, 2008 at 3:51 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

jose, don't forget "Temptation" and "Hawaiian War Chant". Somewhat harder to type though, being instrumental.

Bum bum, bum bum bah BUMMMM! (claw arm waving thing)

July 22, 2008 at 3:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Garrick, what about cowbell, we need more cowbell. Lets Go Blue
-cj

July 22, 2008 at 3:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You know I never really rode with the caravan but I always envisioned having the speaker playing Temptation as we passed another team.

July 22, 2008 at 3:56 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Congrats guys! Well done! You've been a great representative for our school, sponsors, and past team members to be proud of.

Hail! Hail! to Michigan
The leaders and best!
Go Blue!

Jason Kramb
Aero / Driver '99, '01

July 22, 2008 at 3:56 PM  
Blogger Lukas Pankau said...

Who's up for celebrating in Ann Arbor?

July 22, 2008 at 4:00 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Hey, Bill, Ron, Dan, Donna, Jim, Joe, Mike, Mark, Geri, Michelle, Fred, Colleen, Doreen, and Betty! Your nephew, Doug, just won his second national championship!

I said to Mrs. Lambert, "Mrs. Lambert, your son just won his second national championship!"

She replied, "This is good."

July 22, 2008 at 4:01 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Somebody tell Grandma Lambert her grandson just won his second national championship. (You know she doesn't use the internet.)

July 22, 2008 at 4:04 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Hey Lukas,

Dmass and Adam Sloan ('03) and Rondi ('03) and Skip ('03 & '05) and other peoples will be going out tonight, feel free to give me a call or email for details.

-Rbt

July 22, 2008 at 4:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Way to go team - we are so proud of you!

July 22, 2008 at 4:07 PM  
Blogger Technotaoist said...

Huzzah to the team with the biggest budget.

Remember folks, it's only a competition if it's an even playing field. First place or last means nothing. It's about the event, raising awareness, the experience, and all that sort of thing. "Winning" is less of a thing to be proud of than simply participating.

Congrats to everyone, participants and fans alike. We all win with this sort of event.

July 22, 2008 at 4:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Winning It All!

http://outfield.paradiseits.com/live03/WinningItAll.mp3

July 22, 2008 at 4:14 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Hey, Confucius said, "Winning is good." Or was that Vince Lombardi?

Give me few minutes and I'll start wondering about how the other teams did. For a little while, I'm still doing the happy dance.

July 22, 2008 at 4:16 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Prin has to be second. Bochum and Waterloo could be reversed, but I highly doubt it.

-Robert

July 22, 2008 at 4:17 PM  
Blogger Gertlex said...

Go blue! And major congratulations!

Glad to have been a part of the project, and definitely feeling the need to do more in the future!

July 22, 2008 at 4:24 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

Technotaoist actually brings up a very good point - we forgot to thank the business team!

Huzzah for those hardworking souls who put literally thousands of mostly thankless hours into building the connections with industry and the university, who made this the best supported Michigan solar car to date. Michigan has been the "big market team" for so long that it's easy to forget all the hard work necessary to make it happen. None of this can be taken for granted. Phone calls and legwork at not nearly as flashy as molding carbon, but they are every bit as critical to our continued success.

And huzzah for the sponsors, who have believed in and supported this team from the beginning and who donated far, far more than just money or material. The fact that a number of them are following the race and posting on this blog just goes to show their true dedication and how addictive the spirit of this sport is. It couldn't happen without them.

That this team has maintained their drive and dedication through so much is a testament to how this is about much more than winning or losing. And of course the real benefit of this event goes far deeper than trophies and titles. But that said, it still feels awful good to bask in victory for a bit. Go Blue!

July 22, 2008 at 4:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations on continuing the Michigan tradition.

It was a pleasure to work with you, and I can't wait for the next project.

Oh, and to the strategy crew: it was beautiful. :-)

Russ Moerland
Strategist '96-'01

July 22, 2008 at 4:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Can someone please tell me what time Michigan left Medicine Hat and went through Brooks (Petro Canada station)? Thanks and congratulations!

July 22, 2008 at 4:44 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Okay, getting tired of dancing now. Have any other teams crossed the finish line yet? The GOES-West weather satellite shows clouds over southern Alberta. Obviously, that will slow the cars down. Principia and Bochum both had low reserves (or none) in their battery packs. Someone reported hearing another bang! from Minnesota's car and seeing them on the side of the road.

What I'm building up to is I expect Waterloo to cross the line second. How the Canadian crowd will roar! If they beat Bochum in by more than 22 minutes, they could move up to 3rd overall.

July 22, 2008 at 4:45 PM  
Blogger Jed Christiansen said...

CONGRATULATIONS!! Well done to the entire team for a very impressive win!

July 22, 2008 at 4:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

From:

http://www.finishline.ucalgary.ca/photos

It looks like UCalgary has finished.

From Queen's GPS feed, it looks like they have crossed the finish line too.

^That link also has photos of Michigan crossing the finish line

July 22, 2008 at 5:01 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

To anonymous who asked about Brooks: They left Medicine Hat about 9:00 MDT (11:00 EDT). Michigan would have reached Brooks (Mapquest says 67 miles) between 10:10 and 10:40.

July 22, 2008 at 5:03 PM  
Blogger Lisa said...

Just got out of a meeting and ran to the blog to check if you'd won yet. :D GO BLUE! So proud of you all!! Happy celebrating!

July 22, 2008 at 5:05 PM  
Blogger Elson said...

Here is a direct link to the Flickr photostream of the finish line: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dnorman/sets/72157606320507555/

July 22, 2008 at 5:09 PM  
Blogger Tom Carroll said...

Amazing job everyone!!! It's so great to see the sweat, blood, and tears (and I mean all of those quite literally) that everyone has put into Continuum over the past 3 years end like this! Also, thanks Garrick for the recognition and thanks to all of our alumni...hmm I guess that's me now too...for creating this base for us to build on! I hope that we've made our sponsors proud! If any sponsors or alumni happen to be in the Philly area and want to celebrate let me know :)

GO BLUE!

July 22, 2008 at 5:11 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Can't wait to hear how the other teams did - Michigan has been amazing with keeping their blog updated! Has everyone crossed the finish line or are cars still out?

July 22, 2008 at 5:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

TC--just told Grandma. Won by nine hours! She said, "you mean they came in first?" Yep--they sure did.

July 22, 2008 at 5:20 PM  
Blogger Bob Culver said...

Congratulations to all! You're hard work, dedication and commitment has shown through since that fateful day in Darwin. You all said you had something to prove and you now have left your legacy with no doubts!

All the best, Bob

July 22, 2008 at 5:21 PM  
Blogger Elson said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

July 22, 2008 at 5:43 PM  
Blogger Elson said...

Here's the first press coverage that I was able to find: http://www.am770chqr.com/Channels/Reg/NewsLocal/Story.aspx?ID=1017785 . In addition to Continuum's first place finish, they report that Calgary was seventh across the finish line, but Calgary's probable sixth-place standing had not yet been confirmed.

July 22, 2008 at 5:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congrats team!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbJBvOKLh-A

July 22, 2008 at 5:50 PM  
Blogger Michael Adams said...

Nice going, everybody. And you don't need to marathon it back to Ann Arbor to get it over to Australia, either. Lucky dogs.

July 22, 2008 at 6:30 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Ann Arbor's already celebrating, here's a nice article posted front and center on umich.edu, with quotes from Mary Sue Coleman -

http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6653

July 22, 2008 at 6:41 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

2319 miles in about 51.5 hours = 45.0 mph average. Michigan's 2005 car Momentum still holds the speed record. (Time for Robert to gloat.) If the worn brake pad penalty were removed, that would take an hour off. 2319/50.5 = 45.9 mph, still short of the 46.2 mph record. To break the record, Continuum would have had to finish in under 50 hours and 12 minutes.

Still, you have to admit Continuum's performance was not too bad. Not too bad at all.

July 22, 2008 at 6:57 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

TC,

Absolutely not bad at all. :) I'm very interested in seeing the final standings will all the teams in there, especially with Bochum and Waterloo being so close.

-Rbt

July 22, 2008 at 7:02 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Missouri S&T reported unofficial standings:

1) Michigan
2) Principia
3) FH Bochum
4) Waterloo
5) Minnesota
6) Calgary
7) Missouri S&T

Almost exactly as I predicted 10 days ago, except for positions 2 - 7. Actually, I did predict Bochum #3. So I got two right. And by my calculations, that's 95% correct.

July 22, 2008 at 7:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sure... we love all the press we can get but...

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jFkem48dw9fTEznIJByztEuH-vxA

How many mistakes can you spot in this relatively short article?

July 22, 2008 at 7:50 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

I sent the Canucks an email detailing the errors... Michigan State, jeez...

-Rbt

July 22, 2008 at 8:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

looks like Calgary TV's got their clip up at
http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080722/CGY_solar_finish_080722/20080722/?hub=CalgaryHome

Rainey

July 22, 2008 at 9:09 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

Just a thought, but this was the North American Solar Challenge, right? So wouldn't that be "Continental Champions"?

July 22, 2008 at 9:37 PM  
Blogger Wisniewski said...

results are now posted at
http://americansolarchallenge.org

July 22, 2008 at 10:01 PM  
Blogger ashley said...

Woohoo!!! Congratulations to the race crew on a great race and to everyone on the team who contributed to another championship! It's been fun to follow along. =) Have fun celebrating now and back in AA!

-Ashley Milne
'01 Race Crew

July 23, 2008 at 12:11 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Awesome car + Awesome team =
AWESOME RESULT !!

Congratulations on an absolutely stunning prep & rayce.
Well done BLUE.

Bob Allan

July 23, 2008 at 12:12 AM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Blue ... is clear! LOL. Sorry Peter, just too funny to pass up. :-P

-Rbt

July 23, 2008 at 12:17 AM  
Blogger Peter said...

Team,

An amazing result. Thanks to your hard work and motivation, you've managed to uphold the tradition of Michigan Solar Car.

During the next few days, make sure to remember and reflect on the path that led you to this point. I wish that each one of you is successful at finding the same passion in your lives as what you've shown in the days and months leading up to this amazing victory.


Hail! to the victors valiant!

Go Blue!

Peter B.
Crew Chief '05

July 23, 2008 at 3:03 AM  
Blogger Peter said...

Rbt, this is the happiest day of my life! (almost)

July 23, 2008 at 3:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yay!
Lots of screaming going on at the moment!
Good on you Michigan, congratulations and salutations from Australia.
Hope to catch up with you next year in Adelaide.
From Alisha Cook :)
(Steve Cook's daughter!)

July 23, 2008 at 5:29 AM  
Blogger Kanis Sapphirus said...

Everyone,

Congratulations on winning a fifth national championship!

It's a strange feeling to watch from so far away, after having been at the ground level of the project, but that doesn't make the moment any less special. Enjoy it!

GO BLUE!

Best,

Steve
BHP Billiton

July 23, 2008 at 7:01 AM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

To the German team:

Das Bochumer Team bauen ein schönes Auto und lief ein hervorragendes Rennen. Im Namen von Michigan's Fans, Studenten und Team, Sie haben großen Respekt verdient. Vielen Dank für Ihr Kommen bisher zu beteiligen. Woderful Leistung, einfach wunderbar.

July 23, 2008 at 7:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations, awesome performance! Dr. Montgomery

July 23, 2008 at 8:04 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Continuum Team -
Congratulations on your winning achievement! You make all U of M alumni, fans, and friends proud!

It was great fun visiting with you down in Dallas and following the race progress to Calgary online. I wish I could have seen the finish in person. I can't wait to see all the pictures you bring back. You now have stories that you'll tell for years.

You have truely accomplished something great, now Michigan has 5 solar car national championships, more than all other teams combined. Michigan completely dominated the race, in the lead from flag to flag, minus maybe a couple minutes on day 1. A record performance in many ways.

Jeff and Doug, you are in an elite group (of perhaps only two) who have won two of these races. It is certainly a testament to your dedication and hard work. Everyone contributed to your success - you have a great design team, maintenence crew, strategy, operations, and business. Your team has bounced back from countless challenges and proven you will always come out on top. Your efforts will catapault the next team to continued success and hopefully a world title.

Enjoy the celebration, have a safe trip home, and don't forget to bring the Wilson Cup! Go Blue!

- Maggie Hayes ME'03 Ops'05

July 23, 2008 at 8:54 AM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Guess you get to keep the Little Solar Brown Jug, eh? Congrats!

-Rbt

July 23, 2008 at 9:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations Team! Fantastic Rayce. Once again, you have made us proud.

Bob Gurrola
Alcoa Fastening Systems

July 23, 2008 at 12:09 PM  
Blogger Ivan said...

Hail! to the victors valiant

Congratulations from a proud alum


Ivan ('03)

July 23, 2008 at 12:20 PM  
Blogger Kempton said...

Congratulations for the win. I hope the team members all have a great time in Calgary.

Special thanks to Brooke, Chito, Chaio-Ting, and Chuck for chatting with me after the race in Calgary.

July 23, 2008 at 12:34 PM  
Blogger rodii said...

Congratulations y'all! Terrific job!

July 24, 2008 at 10:09 AM  
Blogger OgOrO said...

UMSOLAR Car Continium..the tradition continues

Congratulations to the new generation!!!

I'm so proud of you guys
--
Seun Noibi EE'05

July 24, 2008 at 10:20 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OK TC Lambert, I entered your German text into Babelfish (Reverso). What I got was:
"The Bochumer team build a schnes car and an outstanding running ran. On behalf of Michigan's of fan, student and team, you have earned groen respect. To give a share many thanks Fr of your arrival up to now. Woderful performance(achievement), simply strangely."

Um--what was it supposed to say?

July 24, 2008 at 12:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good Job!! so what's the name of the driver?

July 26, 2008 at 3:09 AM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Ron, that was exactly as I composed it in English!

OK, I translated with Google's translator. If you try retranslating with that, it comes out a little closer. Though I did learn the computer translators don't deal well with tyyppos.

July 26, 2008 at 6:56 AM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

I have to wonder, though how babelfish could translate wunderbahr as strangely.

July 26, 2008 at 6:58 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hooray! And go green!

October 4, 2008 at 3:36 AM  

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In Calgary!

One last post before we finish. We are currently in Calgary driving downtown with traffic. 5 miles out!

Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go BLUE!

57 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

finish fast and smooth... I wish I was there to cheer you on in person!

July 22, 2008 at 3:01 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

YES!!!

July 22, 2008 at 3:01 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Same here!

Everybody get your camera's ready!!

July 22, 2008 at 3:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

IT'S GREAT TO BE A MICHIGAN WOLVERINE!

GO BLUE!

July 22, 2008 at 3:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you sign "Hail to the Victors" slowly, for some reason, its more emotional!

July 22, 2008 at 3:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

sing that is....

I'm all verclempt and can't type!

July 22, 2008 at 3:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just one more left turn!

July 22, 2008 at 3:08 PM  
Blogger Frederic Barthelemy said...

Almost there guys! Finish it in style!

July 22, 2008 at 3:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Was anyone else leaning his/her head and body when it seemed like the left onto Charleswood wasn't happening? :)

Rainey

July 22, 2008 at 3:12 PM  
Blogger Frederic Barthelemy said...

Wah! What happened to the GPS map!!! NOOOoooo

July 22, 2008 at 3:13 PM  
Blogger Julia Hawley said...

This is so exciting! I am at work, trying to work, but I can't.

I with I could be there with you guys!

Go Blue!

(I love that I know exactly who posted "it's great to be a Michigan Wolverine")

July 22, 2008 at 3:14 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

Aaagh they broke the GPS! Curse, you, lolcat!

July 22, 2008 at 3:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

anything????

July 22, 2008 at 3:15 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

AHHHHH! Somebody from race crew better call us - TC, it's phone tree time...

July 22, 2008 at 3:16 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

im in ur kar. i 8 ur gps.

July 22, 2008 at 3:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Meybe they got out to run with the car?

July 22, 2008 at 3:16 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

anyone else cursing at their computer?????

July 22, 2008 at 3:17 PM  
Blogger Charles Eichhorst said...

Of all the times for the GPS to stop working, why now?

July 22, 2008 at 3:19 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Does the GPD stop working if they turn the car off? Like for instance, when they cross the finish line?

Somebody say the words.

July 22, 2008 at 3:19 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I think pretty much everybody... Stinking technology, we get so used to it, then it goes out! But think about how it was back in 1990, we are still lucky!

July 22, 2008 at 3:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let them enjoy their moment "in the sun." Its time to be away from computers for a moment and live in "real time." We all know they're high-fiveing right now. Its a moment of a lifetime.

July 22, 2008 at 3:19 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

GPS. C'mon, I can type 100 words a minute. Are my fingers not working right? Wonder why?

July 22, 2008 at 3:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations!!! Go Blue! Enjoy the celebration!

July 22, 2008 at 3:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i vote we panic

July 22, 2008 at 3:21 PM  
Blogger Brian Ignaut said...

I've never refreshed a page this much in my life. GO BLUE!!!

July 22, 2008 at 3:22 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Or we could assume the best possible outcome and start celebrating already!!

July 22, 2008 at 3:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, Jeff R., I'm still on Charleswood Dr. NW. Jeff R's Mom

July 22, 2008 at 3:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Whew.........!!!
Hugs for EVERYONE!! and please do not forget a hug and a pat or two for CONTINUUM.....bless her heart and cells!!! What a TEAM!!!!
(another anonymous)

July 22, 2008 at 3:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

someone call someone already!!!

July 22, 2008 at 3:23 PM  
Blogger Frederic Barthelemy said...

It's Great! To Be! A Michigan Wolverine!

Go Blue!

Finally reached your destiny.

July 22, 2008 at 3:24 PM  
Blogger Elson said...

Are they there yet? :-p

July 22, 2008 at 3:25 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Tried Ferman and Chito, noone's picking up, probably jumping around.

July 22, 2008 at 3:26 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Yeah, team, good work! Go Blue!

-Rbt

July 22, 2008 at 3:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be on this site at work but this is too awesome. Way to go team!

Go Blue!!!

-cj

July 22, 2008 at 3:29 PM  
Blogger Brian Ignaut said...

They're there, they won!!!! Just talked to Steve.

July 22, 2008 at 3:30 PM  
Blogger Frederic Barthelemy said...

Congrats everyone! Go Blue! It's about time everyone else knew how good you were. We knew it all along.

July 22, 2008 at 3:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

reloading and switching between pages is giving me a stroke...

July 22, 2008 at 3:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

WOOT!

Okay back to work.

July 22, 2008 at 3:31 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

In Wednesday's business section: A large number of UofM alumni were fired for unauthorized internet usage at work.

They all said, "It was worth it."

July 22, 2008 at 3:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations! Continuum is one hell of a car.

July 22, 2008 at 3:32 PM  
Blogger dkadams said...

Congratulations to the entire Michigan team!!!

July 22, 2008 at 3:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You make us proud, finish strong, fast and smooth...in True Blue fashion...the Leaders and the Best! Wish we could be there cheering in person!

July 22, 2008 at 3:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

what? back to work??? i think WE all can sit back and BASK in the glory of victory for a time

July 22, 2008 at 3:33 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

AWESOME! Contratulations team, you make us all so proud!

July 22, 2008 at 3:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update! Congratulations, Continuum and all the previous teams!

Thank you for a great rayce and a wonderful contribution to UM's tradition!

Rainey

July 22, 2008 at 3:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Since Ford is a major sponsor, I view this as legitimate use of company resources! Go Blue! The winged helmet never looked so good!

July 22, 2008 at 3:35 PM  
Blogger JIm K said...

The Leaders and Best! Never more true than today. Congratulations to everyone involved!

July 22, 2008 at 3:35 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Congratulations team!! Please post some pictures soon.

I think I have to go for a walk or something to calm down so I can get back to work...

July 22, 2008 at 3:35 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

You can take time to sing a few verses.

July 22, 2008 at 3:35 PM  
Blogger Matthew Trantham said...

Great car and a great team, congratulations. Go Blue!

July 22, 2008 at 3:36 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

It was just shy of three years ago that this car was just becoming a thought in anyone's mind. To see it come from that, through all the strange luck, rough times, and disappointment, through all the first times and successes, to this day is absolutely amazing. I am a ridiculously proud parent of a ridiculously fast, full figured solar car. Go Blue, and long live Continuum.

July 22, 2008 at 3:37 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Garrick, three years ago, they were thinking of a different car, the Continuum that was never built. Wasn't it two years ago, they scrapped that design and started over because of the rule changes?

July 22, 2008 at 3:39 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Oh, and I guess Doug's back in the will.

July 22, 2008 at 3:40 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

Yeah, but I managed to save a fair amount from the first one. The wheel layout and rear fairings are more or less identical. So it was still this car we were designing, we just didn't know it yet. That's just one more part of the long and odd journey this car's been on, and all the more reason to be proud of it.

July 22, 2008 at 3:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

TC-
3 years ago was when the team was getting together and overall project was getting started. But you're right in that 2 years ago, the car needed some major overhaul to fit WSC's new regs.
cj

July 22, 2008 at 3:46 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Garrick has a point, too, though. I remember Doug talking about switching the three wheels around to have one in front, right after WSC '05. And they started working almost immediately on a "mule" car to test the stability of that design. They had to satisfy themselves it wouldn't roll over on hard turns.

July 22, 2008 at 4:25 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Momentum wasn't even on the boat yet back to the US yet when the ME Team was designing 1 wheel front configurations on Adelaide pub napkins and thinking up car names. Those guys don't know how to take a vacation. Hopefully Doug will get some rest (and a shower) now.

July 22, 2008 at 9:40 PM  

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30 km to go!

We are down to 30 km left of the 2008 North American Solar Challenge. We have already seen many groups of people on the side of the road cheering us on and taking pictures. With reports from Scout and Weather we expect lots more lining the streets and highway ramps as we near the city. And now just over 30 or so minutes to go.

24 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

You're almost there!!! The real time blog and GPS updates are fantastic! Go Blue!!

July 22, 2008 at 2:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Go Blue!!!

July 22, 2008 at 2:24 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Loosen up those vocal cords, and get ready to sing. I'm talkin' to the internet spectators, too.

July 22, 2008 at 2:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Go Blue!! Congrats!!

July 22, 2008 at 2:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

From the Calgary TV website, here's the route that's now starting to show on the Google Map Caravan Locator:

The route through Calgary is:

- Trans-Canada to 52nd St N.E.

- Left on McKnight BLVD.

- Left on John Laurie Blvd.

- Left on Charleswood Dr.

- The official finish line is at Charleswood Drive and Collegiate Boulevard.

Rainey

July 22, 2008 at 2:30 PM  
Blogger JIm K said...

I am feeding updates to all your friends at U of M Credit Union, a VERY proud sponsor. Congratulations! Best wishes for a smooth finish.

GO BLUE!

July 22, 2008 at 2:33 PM  
Blogger Brian Ignaut said...

Go go go!!!

July 22, 2008 at 2:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Y E S !!!!!!
Happiness....Proudness
You have many, many fans!!! Too bad you cannot hear all of us cheering you on in addition to those fortunate enough to be watching this exciting finish!!
(another anonymous)

July 22, 2008 at 2:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In the past hour I have probably told about 83 people that the University of Michigan Solar Car Team is about to become back to back champions!

(I am almost as excited as TC... well maybe not that excited, but I will be singing you can count on that)

July 22, 2008 at 2:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Hail to the colors that float in the light. Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue!"!!!!!

Our hearts are bursting for you! :)

Rainey

July 22, 2008 at 2:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OMG!!!

July 22, 2008 at 2:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

many cheers to Michigan! I am proudly watching the GPS site to see the caravan finish its last few km of this incredible journey--good work all!

July 22, 2008 at 2:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The car is within the city proper according to GPS. This is so much more relaxing when you dont have another team breathing down your neck.

July 22, 2008 at 2:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hail to the victors....is playing so loudly...............

July 22, 2008 at 2:42 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

the rate of posts is increasing as the car gets closer... looks like they're already off the highway in Calgary!

I'm the same as Max, my coworkers totally think I'm nuts.

July 22, 2008 at 2:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Are they playing it from the caravan?

July 22, 2008 at 2:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Calgary TV has live coverage

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080722/CGY_solar_car_080722/20080722/?hub=CalgaryHome

July 22, 2008 at 2:48 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Mom! Are we there yet? Mom! Mom! Mom! Are we there yet?

July 22, 2008 at 2:49 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks Rainey for posting the final turn-by-turn directions. It's definitely more fun to know where the car is going next.

Congrats again, and I look forward to hearing stories when people get back to Ann Arbor.

July 22, 2008 at 2:49 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

On McKnight Blvd ....

July 22, 2008 at 2:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's Great to be a Michigan Wolverine!

July 22, 2008 at 2:53 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

had a little panic moment that the feed stopped working, they must have been stopped at a light.

July 22, 2008 at 2:53 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

a salute to ALL past, present, and future u of m solar car teams...

July 22, 2008 at 2:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is the live feed just a video, or like streaming video?

July 22, 2008 at 2:57 PM  

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An Update from Chase

As I ride along in Chase for the last stretch of the rayce, I would like to take a few minutes to thank all of our team sponsors, especially those who help my Division: Strategy.

Computers
Computational power is one of the greatest tools of Michigan Strategists. During the race Strategists run simulations to help determine the optimal speed to run Continuum. A special thanks to Acer America, Computer Builder's Warehouse, Red Barn Computers, Intel, and CAEN for providing the team with laptops, desktop computers and servers for the race.

GPS
One of the keys to Michigan's success race strategy is accurate GPS and route information. Topcon provided the team with GPS equipment, which in conjunction with a correction service from OmniStar was used to gather sub-meter accurate data for the entire race route. This helped us plan ahead and save extra energy in the battery for those nasty hills.

Software Development
For this race, Michigan Strategists used mainly MATLAB and Visual Studio for software development. A special thanks to The MathWorks and Microsoft for providing licenses for their respective software suites.

Computer Peripherals

Even with the fanciest computer and superb software tools, it is difficult to run a race without all of the small computer peripherals and accessories. Cables Unlimited, Alternative Wireless, Targus and Sewell Direct helped provide the team with top of the line products including Serial-USB adapters, cellular antennas, laptop power cords, portable harddrive enclosures and other such things.

Testing
Another key to Michigan's successful strategy is detail testing of Continuum. Testing was done on both a system and vehicle level. A special thanks to Carlisle Belts for providing timing pulleys and belts and Visteon for donating a dynamometer to the team; both were used to characterize Continuum's new CSIRO motor last summer. Performance of Continuum was characterized on Dana's and Chrysler's test tracks and at Michigan International Speedway. Continuum has also recently visited Jacobs' and Chrysler’s wind tunnels. This testing was essential for Michigan Strategists to understand the performance of Continuum; it enabled us to drive fast without worrying (too much) about draining the battery back.

Wireless Communication
Continuum utilizes Motorola’s MESH technology to wirelessly transfer data from Continuum to Lead and Chase. Michigan Strategists monitor telemetry data from Continuum throughout the race and compare its performance to their predictive models. MESH worked flawlessly for the team this NASC.

Unfortunately due to my poor internet connection crossing the Canadian prairie, I am unable to post pictures right now.

-Alex
Head Strategist

Labels: ,

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, Alex --

How does the Caflor Industries gps fit into scheme? (I've really appreciated the gps website the team has given us access to the last couple days.)

Thanks for the updates and to your sponsors from a grateful alum!

Rainey

July 22, 2008 at 2:00 PM  
Blogger Alex Dowling said...

Sorry about that... I knew I forgot someone.

A special thanks to Caflor. In addition to GPS tracking, they have also provided the team with other resources such as testing facilities (chassis dyno.)

July 22, 2008 at 2:29 PM  
Blogger Wisniewski said...

Alex,
Thank you for recognizing our company. Being a Continuum sponsor has been an extremely rewarding experience.
Dean T. Wisniewski
Visteon Corporation

July 22, 2008 at 2:54 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

Seagate was also a big help - the team has an absurd amount of storage available.

July 22, 2008 at 3:08 PM  

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A few more updates

With quite a bit of battery saved so we can go at whatever speed we would like, we have chosen a safe cruising speed given the very light traffic and light winds. We do not know where the other teams are and we can't see them (as of now) behind us. It has been fun driving along and finding family, friends, and media passing and then seeing them on the side of the road with cameras taking pictures. As soon as I can get some I will post a few online.

6 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

It's great to see our team performing perfectly. Go Blue! And hope some 09 design is going on in later summer

July 22, 2008 at 12:48 PM  
Blogger dkadams said...

Loving the speed of those blue dots! Please imagine all of us online spectators cheering you along the route as well.

Go fast, go safe(ly), go BLUE!

July 22, 2008 at 12:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you, Jeff! Also look forward to the pictures.
Can't see anyone behind you and the cars left a minute apart?!? WOW!! Yea, Continuum!! and the team!!
(another anonymous)

July 22, 2008 at 12:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is pretty exciting! Only about 1:15-1:30 away from the finish line!!!

July 22, 2008 at 1:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

For the '09 Team:

"Those who stay WILL be Champions!"

July 22, 2008 at 1:52 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

In the home stretch, not too long now. Go Blue!

July 22, 2008 at 2:20 PM  

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We are off to Calgary

We are on the road about 30 minutes out of Medicine Hat. With every team leaving at 1 minute intervals, the 180 mile stretch will be fun and hopefully everyone will come in close to one another. We have been told to expect thousands of people in Calgary (eveb more than in 2005 when 30,000 people showed up for the finish).

Thanks again to everyone following the race and for those that posted. It really is great to see such an active blog and has been great fun. Now time to keep up speeds, travel safely, and arrive in Calgary!

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

WOOOOOO Finish strong like a Wolverine should

July 22, 2008 at 11:47 AM  
Blogger __mars said...

good luck from malaysia!

Go Blue!

July 22, 2008 at 11:48 AM  
Blogger Elson said...

It looks like they're covered roughly 20% of the leg in the 30 minutes of racing so far, which puts them on track to finish around 1:45 P.M. EDT. Congratulations on a race well run, and Go fast, Go smooth, Go BLUE!

July 22, 2008 at 11:51 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Please keep posting often, Jeff. The excitement "continues" to grow!(another anonymous)

July 22, 2008 at 11:54 AM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

Great to see the blue dots moving across Alberta. Good luck for a fast, stres free finish. You (and Continuum) earned it. Great way to end the strange and varied history of this car.

July 22, 2008 at 11:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow! I had to read the standings several times to make sure I wasn't misreading them. Great job of extending that lead. Finish strong Michigan!

July 22, 2008 at 12:03 PM  

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Monday, July 21, 2008

Standings as of Medicine Hat

Here are the current official standings from NASC:

Team             Time
Michigan     47:22:53
Principia    56:18:51
FH Bochum    58:43:32
Waterloo     59:05:33
Minnesota    60:30:16
Calgary      70:13:58
Missouri S&T 72:58:23
Iowa State   84:53:20
Red River    85:38:55
Kentucky     91:42:36
Arizona      94:54:11
Queens       101:18:35
Northwestern 104:30:51
Durham       121:27:28
Oregon State 121:42:48


And some quick calculations. Leader is the time behind the leader. Gap is the time behind the next place. These are my numbers, so please let me know if you find any errors.


Team             Time      Leader       Gap
Michigan     47:22:53    --------   -------
Principia    56:18:51     8:55:58   8:55:58
FH Bochum    58:43:32    11:20:39   2:24:41
Waterloo     59:05:33    11:42:40   0:22:01
Minnesota    60:30:16    13:07:23   1:24:43
Calgary      70:13:58    22:51:05   9:43:42
Missouri S&T 72:58:23    25:35:30   2:44:25
Iowa State   84:53:20    37:30:27  11:54:57
Red River    85:38:55    38:16:02   0:45:35
Kentucky     91:42:36    44:19:43   6:03:41
Arizona      94:54:11    47:31:18   3:11:35
Queens       101:18:35   53:55:42   6:24:24
Northwestern 104:30:51   57:07:58   3:12:16
Durham       121:27:28   74:04:35  16:56:37
Oregon State 121:42:48   74:19:55   0:15:20

Labels: ,

28 Comments:

Blogger Furqan Nazeeri said...

Whoa! That's a record 9-hour lead! Great job...Go Blue!

July 22, 2008 at 12:35 AM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Wow. Just wow. I'm impressed. Now don't lose the fairings!

July 22, 2008 at 12:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well done team. Nice to see the note on lead brought some luck after Soiux Falls. Finish strong, it surely is a proud moment for the team and all our supporters.
GO BLUE!!!!!!!

July 22, 2008 at 1:08 AM  
Blogger Mark said...

Congrats on your incredible time! It's great how I've been using your blog to get updates on times long before NASC updates... Best of luck on your last leg from the Kentucky solar team!

July 22, 2008 at 1:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amaizing, great teamwork.

July 22, 2008 at 6:00 AM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Steve! So much arithmetic. It all checks. You get an 'A.'

July 22, 2008 at 6:44 AM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Michigan did the Winnipeg to Medicine Hat stage in about 13:09. At 662 miles, that's a 50.3 mph avg. At 2132 miles overall, it's about a 45.0 mph avg. Somebody said with route changes, it's actually 2177 miles. That gives a 45.9 mph avg.

The record of 46.2 mph is still theoretically reachable.

Other teams must have taken penalties. The stage should have been a maximum of 18 hours. (9 to 6 the first day, 8 to 6 the second day, minus 1 hour for two checkpoint stops.) But, besides Michigan, only Waterloo (17 hours even) and Minnesota (17:32) came in under 18 hours. Bochum had 18:44 for the stage, Calgary 19:03, Missouri S&T 19:38, and Principia 20:43.

From their radio interview last night, we know Principia chose to take the penalty for coming in late (7:42 PM!) rather than take the trailering penalty, which would have been app. 12 hours. They saved something like 9 hours, so that's looking like a pretty shrewd move. Good enough to hold onto second place. If they had trailered in, they would have fallen to 5th place.

Principia is not out of the woods yet. They had terrible electrical problems yesterday, and limped in to Medicine Hat with empty batteries. That means they may run slower than they wish for this last leg of 187 miles. Bochum has a small chance to catch up. But Waterloo has a small to catch up to Bochum.

Calgary has moved up to 6th place. S&T fell to 7th. Iowa State moved up to 8th. Red River fell to 9th.

The first five teams managed to go the whole way without trailering. That is worthy of respect right there, with this stage, the longest, scheduled at only 2 days.

Michigan now has almost a 9 hour lead. At least one team has suggested (complained) that Michigan should be in a different class, so somebody else has a chance of winning. (How quickly they forgot 2005.)

The big difference, IMHO, is that Michigan built this car to compete in WSC '07, and consequently had over 5,000 miles of testing before the start of this race.

July 22, 2008 at 7:44 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

The team suggesting a separate U of M class also apparently forgot '03, when U of M didn't qualify, and that team won the race! But it doesn't matter much now... 9 hours. Wow. Just wow. For the historians out there, has any US race *ever* been quite like this? Amazing.

July 22, 2008 at 8:06 AM  
Blogger Doug Carroll said...

Congratulations Michigan!! I believe that Continuum is the best solar car ever made in North America. You may or may not set the speed record of your 2005 car, but the 2005 rules allowed for a lot more charging time at the stage stops. Continuum may be the car to upset the Dutch team in WSC.

Good luck - hope you have a great run today.

July 22, 2008 at 8:29 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, wonderful Job!

If Continuum keeps up at the speed it posted for the last leg, it should take roughly 3 hours and 45 ish minutes. Presuming they are leaving at 9 am Mountain Time from Medicine Hat. That would put them into Calgary at 12:45 ish. So 1:45 Central and 2:45 eastern.

Keep up the great work!

Go Fast,Go Smooth, Go Blue!

Kate Bateman

July 22, 2008 at 8:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well done guys and girls.
Make up the 4 minutes and 2 seconds and I will give you all permission to take the day off and have a beer.
An Australian beer of course.

July 22, 2008 at 8:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Not to get ahead of ourselves, but I saw the comment earlier about Continuum and WSC. Is the team planning on rerunning Continuum for WSC 09 or is that the debut race for Infinitum (BTW, I like the name!)

Jose

July 22, 2008 at 8:51 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations! Good luck today - we wish we could greet you at the finish line. Go Blue!

July 22, 2008 at 9:00 AM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Michigan is working on InfiniUM right now. (Well, I hope the Infinium team back in Ann Arbor took a break to follow this race.) They tell me it will be a really sweet ride, better in many ways than ContinuUM. Maybe this one can dethrone King Nuon.

July 22, 2008 at 9:10 AM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

Steve - It's been great to see you posting on here. I'm sure the team would like to take you up on your offer, though it's generally difficult to find decent Aussie beer (the only "Aussie" brand is generally Foster's, and that's brewed in the U.S. now). It's a sad state of affairs.

July 22, 2008 at 9:40 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow ... and ... [an awestruck] whoa, Continuum. Thank you for all the updates. Well done through this stage! Good luck today! Go fast, go smooth, Go Blue!

Rainey

July 22, 2008 at 10:21 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great job guys and gals. I know you will finish strong! I know I speak for everyone in saying how proud we are of all of you... seriously! It's amazing how different this race ended up being from the '05 race.

Be sure to take pictures of that teepee thingy in Medicine Hat... it might be the last chance you have to see such a fine structure.

Also, be sure to keep your cool on the final morning... things get hairy when you're too stressed with fighting penalties.

July 22, 2008 at 10:43 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Did they already start? The tracker shows a vehicle peeling down the highway.

July 22, 2008 at 10:44 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I must have been mistaken. 8 am start? Subtract one hour from my projections... That would but them in Calgary roughly 11:45 Mountain, 12:45 central and 1:45 eastern. Go Blue!

July 22, 2008 at 10:51 AM  
Blogger Hostman said...

My understanding is the Continuum is not going to race again after this NASC, and Infinium will be the new car starting in WSC '09. It's going to take a lot to beat Nuon ... they're faster than us by about as much as we're faster than everyone else in NASC (this year). Innovation along the lines of the concentrator system will help propel the team to victory, but don't expect it.

Garrick - we can get Cooper's here in Ann Arbor, just go to the Beer Depot...

-Rbt

July 22, 2008 at 10:54 AM  
Blogger Charles Eichhorst said...

I reran my calculations it it looks like Momentum's record actually will be just out of reach. The 2132 miles to Medicine Hat was correct, not the 2177 I initially calculated. The total distance of the race, as far as I can tell, is 2319 miles. The Winnipeg to Medicine Hat stage was 602 miles. If you neglect the 1-hour penalty for not changing brake pads, then my numbers are correct, but officially setting a new record will have to wait until 2010.

Congratulations on running a great race and have a safe drive into Calgary. I'll clear a spot for the trophy case in the workspace.

Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go Blue!

July 22, 2008 at 10:59 AM  
Blogger Charles Eichhorst said...

The car is rolling out now.

The tracker was showing the weather car earlier. Its correct now.

July 22, 2008 at 11:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Goosebumps are just around the corner! I do envy those who get to be there.
Continue going fast, true, smooth, and blue, CONTINUUM!!!
(another anonymous)

July 22, 2008 at 11:10 AM  
Blogger Brian Ignaut said...

This is just amazing! Great job Team, you're almost there.

July 22, 2008 at 11:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Traffic Cams in the area show that its a cloudy overcast day, hopefully it will clear up by Calgary.

July 22, 2008 at 11:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

;This blog site has been wonderful. I can keep track of Jeff R. (sort of) and not use our shared phone minutes. I have enjoyed all the comments and keeping up-to-date on the race or rayce. You are pretty close to finish,so maybe you could carry the car the rest of the way, should something horrendous happen. Looks like you have been pretty smooth and fast and so blue! Jeff's Mom

July 22, 2008 at 2:26 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Oh no, error, error. (Mine, not Steve's.) Bochum only took 17:44 for the stage, within the 18 legal max. Es tut mir leid, meine Freunde. Und herzlichen Glückwunsch zu laufen wie ein gutes Rennen.

July 22, 2008 at 4:55 PM  
Blogger NShway said...

Steve,

On behalf of the 2001 M-Pulse team, congrats to you and the entire ContinuUM team for your tremendous win in the 2008 NASC. It was a phenomenal accomplishment and perhaps the largest margin of victory in Solar Car history. In reading your blog, we’re especially proud of the way in which you conducted yourselves as competitors and how you represented the University of Michigan across your journey.

As I’m sure you’re aware, the Michigan Solar Car Team is an excellent launch pad to your future and we hope the bonds you form with your teammates will last for decades to come. Best of luck in your future endeavors as a group, as professionals, and as champion solar car alumni.

Go fast, go smooth, and GO BLUE!!!!

Yours,

Nader Shwayhat
Project Manager (retired)
M-Pulse 2001
University of Michigan Solar Car Team

July 24, 2008 at 3:22 PM  

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Completed Stage Four

We arrived in Medicine Hat at 13:08:52 this afternoon!  I apologize for the problems with the tracking website - I believe we lost internet access which the updates are dependent upon.  Anyhow with nothing planned except general maintenance on Continuum and then an evening charge starting at 6pm, the team hopes to complete work and then relax and get some sleep.  We haven't seen any other teams yet and we heard from the Germans that they would be in around 5pm.  Only one day of racing left!

24 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Awesome work everyone. Roll across the finish line tomorrow in true Michigan style.

CJ

July 21, 2008 at 5:37 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

Great job guys. Try to have all the pieces on the car when it crosses the finish line this time.

Go fast, go smooth, go Blue, one more time, Continuum.

July 21, 2008 at 6:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Multi-juntion solar cells ROCK!!!

July 21, 2008 at 6:18 PM  
Blogger Charles Eichhorst said...

Time for some math.
Assuming no more penalties, the total elapsed time is now 47:23. Adding up the distances from the route book, the car has traveled 2177 miles (although with route changes it is actually higher). The average speed so far has been 45.95 mph.

There are 187 miles left to Calgary. To complete the race at Momentum's average speed of 46.2 mph, Continuum will need to reach Calgary in 3:47. Therefore, to match Momentum's average speed, Continuum will need to average 49.34 mph tomorrow.

July 21, 2008 at 6:19 PM  
Blogger Brian Ignaut said...

I agree with Garrick. Tell the drivers to watch out for curbs as you drive towards the start line.

Thanks for the math, Charles. Nice to hear that Continuum can continue to raise the bar for future teams.

To the team, stay focused and make these last miles count. You're almost done!

July 21, 2008 at 6:29 PM  
Blogger Alex Dowling said...

An update from Medicine Hat:

Waterloo rolled in a while ago (I think 3:45pm, but no one should quote me on that) and Minnesota just pulled in (~4:34pm unofficial time).

July 21, 2008 at 6:37 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Yeah, definitely don't:

1) Run the car into the curb, destroying one of the very important fairings

2) Follow it up by losing telemetry for the whole day

I do think Continuum would be able to average close to 60 mph tomorrow. It's a straight shot and all highway until the stopping point. Of course, they should get a full charge tonight and in the morning.

And yeah, the datalogger is using the GPRS data network in Canada, so coverage is very spotty out in the middle of nowhere. When it does get coverage, it'll send all the buffered driving data. We have another unit in beta that uses satellites to transmit positioning.

-Rbt

July 21, 2008 at 6:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We have a time change somewhere. M.Hat is in Mtn time, 2 hrs earlier than A2 time.
Jay

July 21, 2008 at 6:45 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Congratulations everyone for getting this far. You've only got a little ways to go.

Also an FYI for any team members reading this, the U-M Gateway (www.umich.edu) now links to your blogger post about tracking the car. The coverage may be spotty, but you now may have a bit of an audience, so it couldn't hurt to have the page running as best as possible.

As always -
Go fast. Go smooth. Go blue.

July 21, 2008 at 8:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

For someone who has raced with UofM in every WSC entered I find this blog almost as good as being there with you all - it is very exciting to keep up with your effort.

Many thanks Jeff and others involved in the blog and the tracker.

Have a great day today and nail this race.

Bob Allan

July 21, 2008 at 8:33 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

C'mon, it's killing us! Tell us what happened with Principia and Bochum. Did they make it in under their own power? Looks like Minnesota and Waterloo did. And this rainy year, that's quite an accomplishment.

July 21, 2008 at 8:53 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

You are almost there, keep up the amazing work! Nothing would be better than a new US record. Everybody do a little no-rain dance and take a deep breath. You're so close, just take your time and follow the same processes, you've gotten this far with strong, steady, progress. Don't forget to keep us posted, you're going to have a captive audience staring at computer screens waiting for news from the finish line! Take your cameras, and most of all - Have fun tomorrow!!!

PS Somebody on race crew please pass along the message to Chito that I said try not to miss the freeway exit in Calgary, the Canadian police may catch you this time!

July 21, 2008 at 9:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Enjoy tomorrow everyone...it will be a highlight of your life pulling into Calgary with the thousands of people lining the finish line.

I know it was for me, and I am just a dad.

Hats off to everyone...except if they are yellow hats...keep them on!

Great work.

Bob Hayes

July 21, 2008 at 9:28 PM  
Blogger Michael Adams said...

You guys are lucky to not have a rabid team breathing down your neck, waiting for the slightest slip up to pull ahead. We were definitely clogging traffic w/ Minnesota in '05 with no one conceding an inch until about 3 blocks to go.

Take it easy and play it safe. All you have to do is cross the finish line. Do not get a big head and make it your goal to pass Momentum's record. We are one team. We are Michigan. We beat other teams, not ourselves. If you beat Momentum's time, congrats. But make sure it's a bonus to completing the race in 1st place. Good luck and godspeed.

July 21, 2008 at 9:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looks like, with bated breath, we will have to listen to principia's internet radio broadcast at 11 pm, a2 time to hear where in the world is Principia
Jay

GO BLUE!

July 21, 2008 at 9:48 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Better than baited breath.

July 21, 2008 at 9:50 PM  
Blogger Tom Carroll said...

I just thought that I'd share some of the blog statistics over the course of the race:

16,313 visits came from 79 countries/territories (looks like people all over the world are watching you guys, so don't mess up)

23 visitors have come 201 or more times (I can think of a few people who are in that category)

Bring it home tomorrow!

July 21, 2008 at 10:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Principia has failed to phone home tonight. Principia does not know where its children are tonight.

July 21, 2008 at 11:10 PM  
Blogger Wisniewski said...

Wolverine Road Warriors, with NASC 2008 coming to an end, I'd appreciate your perspectives.
The attrition (trailer) rate was high for NASC 2008. Was it more grueling than WSC 2007? Are there any similarities in terrain?
How does NASC 2008 compare to the first NASC in 2005?

Godspeed, Continuum!

July 21, 2008 at 11:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Per Podcast: Principia came in under its own power---but it came in late, very late. Moreover, its battery packs are drained.

July 21, 2008 at 11:35 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Late, as in 7:42 PM. BUT, they also said they held on to second place by taking the late penalty instead of the trailering penalty. Smart.

July 21, 2008 at 11:57 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Wow, that is pretty darn late to show up in Medicine Hat. Let's say they have an empty battery pack and only get the morning charge (and the weather is clear in the morning). Let assume the sun rises around 6:30 so they get around 2.5 hours of charging:

2.5h * ~1200W (guess) = 3kWh

This is about half a battery pack, and the day is short. Given good weather, I feel they could make a 50-60 mph run to Calgary tomorrow. Or I could be completely wrong...

One thing that is for sure is that Michigan won't have all the stress and mess that came from the very contentious and unsportmanlike '05 run from MH to Calgary. So have fun!

-Rbt

July 22, 2008 at 12:10 AM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Just in case it wasn't clear, by unsportsmanlike I meant that *both* teams were engaged in more of a back-and-forth tug-of-war and less of a dignified solar car rayce, with competitors running miles apart for timing numbers. ;)

July 22, 2008 at 12:42 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Yea, but it sure was exciting Robert!

July 22, 2008 at 8:08 AM  

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Follow us to the finish

We have decided to publish our live tracking website. Please feel free to follow along with us this morning as we make our way to Medicine Hat and tomorrow as we head into Calgary.

You can track us live at: http://solar2.umsolar.com

It was not built to be public as is, but we figured it would be nice to get it out! So be warned it may not always work, so treat it as beta but enjoy.

23 Comments:

Blogger Wisniewski said...

Jeff and Jeff,
Thanks for the GPS tracking map. I tried it on a dial-up connection and it comes through great! At 10:42 AM EDT it showed you just west of Moosejaw. I also tried the mobile 3G web on my cellphone but that didn't work even with Optimization turned off. The rest of the blog comes through great on both dial-up and mobile web.
Thanks for all of the updates.

July 21, 2008 at 10:54 AM  
Blogger Brian Ignaut said...

Awesome! This is a great resource for everyone following the race. Thanks to Jeff and Caflor for doing a good job on the tracking software.

July 21, 2008 at 11:09 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

GO BLUE!! Good luck as you come to the end of the race! :-)

July 21, 2008 at 11:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this is amazing....even better than the 2005 tracking...

Great work...great thinking...great promotion....

go fast, go smooth, go blue!!!

Bob Hayes

July 21, 2008 at 11:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the updates and for the voice mail update and for the GPS tracking. Have a great time as you finish, It will be great to see you tomorrow, Go fast, go smooth, go blue!
From The Cramers (Kristine's family)

July 21, 2008 at 12:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the GPS. We can now track from home (sad)!!!

KC & Joe Harrison

July 21, 2008 at 12:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great job guys! You are roughly at the place where we looked out the window and saw a field of blue flowers on our left and a field of yellow flowers on our right!

MAX
Mech 05

July 21, 2008 at 12:54 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Awesome! Super cool!

Unfortunately now I won't get any work done for the next two days... refresh, refresh, refresh...

July 21, 2008 at 1:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I also thank you for the tracking website! Visual is nice.

And a huge Thank You to TC Lambert for the gathering AND sharing of info. It is a good feeling to be proud of group of dedicated team members.
(another anonymous)

July 21, 2008 at 1:27 PM  
Blogger Tom Carroll said...

Reminds me of following the race through Australia on the tracker in the middle of the night! GO BLUE!

July 21, 2008 at 1:34 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Sometimes I make mistakes. Mea culpa. Michigan will not make it to Medicine Hat by noonish. Looks more like 1 pm MDT, 3-ish our time.

The real question is who else will make it without trailering? And especially, can Principia make it w/o trailering? On FriendFeed, Garrick Williams said there is a chance if Bochum drives the whole way, and Principia has to trailer their car on the last leg, the penalties could conceivable eat up all of Principia's lead and put Bochum in second. It sounds not likely, but possible.

Oh, and now that we can follow Michigan in real time, you know what my next complaint is. I want it for all the others, too.

July 21, 2008 at 2:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Awesome - thanks for connecting the live tracker to the blog! Go Blue!

July 21, 2008 at 2:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Continuum is not in Alberta, just about 30+ miles from Medicine Hat.

@TC Lambert - the real interesting part is also what happens to teams in places 4-8? They are all so bunched up that it may be decided by which team trailers first and the farthest away.

July 21, 2008 at 2:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

sigh I meant now in Alberta. Have to switch to decaf after lunch.

July 21, 2008 at 2:32 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

TC - I would figure we're on a first name basis by now. 'Sides, not like there are any other Garricks to get me confused with.

July 21, 2008 at 2:36 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Hey guys,

Glad GPS is working for you. Depending on how things go business-wise, I'd like to offer tracking for all of the caravans for 2009/2010.

-Robert
Caflor

July 21, 2008 at 2:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Have I done something wrong? [think user error] My tracker is stuck at the Alberta border.

It was acting funny before I shut down the computer for a while and a dialog box returned an error message asking if I wanted to stop the script from running. None of my re-entries to the page have the tracker running again.

Any help is appreciated.

Rainey

July 21, 2008 at 3:00 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

Looking at it again, any trailering by Principia would definitely put them behind Bochum, as the published drive times for intervals 2 and 3 are huge (4:07 and 5:00, plus 2:37 from interval 1). Of course, Prin's car should be entirely capable of making the distance as long as their electrical gremlins are fixed.

Minnesota may end up regretting not following the lead of Rolla and Calgary and trailering to Brandon, since any trailering in the last interval is going to really hurt.

July 21, 2008 at 3:02 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

To Rainey - I think everyone's is like that, the signal must have dropped out. The lolcat probably broke it.

Could someone confirm something for me? In the past, no team that trailered was allowed to finish ahead of a team that did not trailer (you were also explicitly not allowed to trailer beyond a team that had not trailered). Teams that did were ranked on miles travelled under solar power. However, the current regulations make it appear that, after the time penalty for trailering is applied, trailered teams are treated exactly the same as untrailered teams.

If this is the case, Minnesota may have misread the rules, as their blog makes it sound like they did not trailer from Winnipeg in order to "retain their spot in the top 5".

July 21, 2008 at 3:12 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

You give us the tracker, then you take it away? Cruel, cruel, cruel. Charles says they are just a few minutes from the stage stop.

Now somebody please tell us when the other teams get there, and if they had to trailer their cars to make it. The penalties may shuffle the rankings quite a bit. We long distance spectators probably won't know the new rankings until tomorrow morning.

July 21, 2008 at 3:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you for the updates, Garrick and TC. I was going Bluezerk.

Rainey

July 21, 2008 at 3:20 PM  
Blogger Frederic Barthelemy said...

Hey Guys, I twiddled up a useful addition to the map. It's a bookmarklet which is basically a bookmark you click that modifys the map.

Because of blogger's restrictions you can get the code here

To use this, copy the code at the linked URL and open the GPS map, then either paste into the address bar, or (with firefox, safari, and maybe opera) paste this onto the bookmarks bar, and then click it.

Final step is to resize your window to your heart's content!

July 21, 2008 at 4:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

almost 10 hours in front of the others...quoting my sergeant, Outstanding!!

July 22, 2008 at 3:05 PM  

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New Race Crew Member


17 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chris UR teh uber-nerd. WTF!!1

July 21, 2008 at 12:43 AM  
Blogger Brian Ignaut said...

Hammond, you're so strange.

July 21, 2008 at 12:59 AM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Breaking news:

Michigan has been revealed to be using an indirect solar source for additional energy, violating the array surface limitation. The cat clearly has at least 0.5m^2 of surface area, and the surface area used by the grain and plants being fed to the cat easily warrant a 5 hour penalty. Also, the cat was not listed in the array approval forms, and not listed as part of the team roster.

In other news, that reminds me of the cat Mirai found in '03 that he was keeping at the workspace until we got really pissed about it jumping on the array...

-Rbt

July 21, 2008 at 1:08 AM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

Is that a CAN related doohickey in an Altoids tin next to the MESH transceiver?

I can has solur sellz? K thx bai.

July 21, 2008 at 1:14 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Im in ur kar
suffering all ur carbon fibre spliters

July 21, 2008 at 1:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

err umm... splinters

July 21, 2008 at 1:34 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

im in ur kar
stealin ur sunshyne

July 21, 2008 at 5:14 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i can haz a yellow tape now??

@Garrick

Don't let the fact that it has connectors attached fool you. It's just a tin of everyone's favorite "curiously strong" breath mint. For the driver before having to talk to media and the like. :)

July 21, 2008 at 7:56 AM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

I'm mostly just trying to remember if it was there in Australia. At any rate, it matches nicely with the dinner fork horn activator.

July 21, 2008 at 8:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm surprised the team hasnt tried to get a sponsorship deal from Altoids after seeing the tin in all these photos. :)

Have a fast, safe day of raycing Blue!

July 21, 2008 at 8:22 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

MIRAI!! It's Tetaiku!!

(we had a cat that kept hanging around the workspace in '03, probably because the guys were feeding it. we took it to the humane society, but it looks like it escaped and followed the team to Calgary!)

July 21, 2008 at 8:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

GO BLUE!

Medicine Hat or bbbb....um....Medicine Hat!

Jay
LSA '72

July 21, 2008 at 9:19 AM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Hey Garrick,

Altoids tin is new.

Looks like Prin had a pretty rough day yesterday, what with a *14* MINUTE tire change and a ONE HOUR stop for electrical issues/charging. Their update said only 7 teams left Winnipeg under their own power, and the rest trailered. A sad state of affairs, to be sure.

-Rbt

July 21, 2008 at 9:44 AM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

Does this photo mean we're blaming our brake related penalties on Basement Cat?

July 21, 2008 at 10:18 AM  
Blogger Michael Adams said...

Garrick - short answer "yes" with an "if," long answer "no," with a "but."

July 21, 2008 at 6:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wher is mai litr bx?

July 21, 2008 at 9:01 PM  
Blogger Peter said...

That is totally Tetaiku... Make sure he doesnt' sit on the array!

July 21, 2008 at 9:32 PM  

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Sunday, July 20, 2008

Camping for the night

We have made it past Regina.  Camping just under 30 miles west of the control point, we have met some wonderful locals who have invited us onto their land.  Staying on a small farm, we even found a pond to boost our evening charge.  Throughout today's monotonous route, we steadily built upon our lead.  The team is eager to get to Medicine Hat and complete the longest leg (between checkpoints) of the race at 294.8 miles. 
 
Thanks again to all for posting on the blog.  We enjoy reading the comments while racing and hope to have some good internet coverage throughout the day tomorrow.

19 Comments:

Blogger Furqan Nazeeri said...

Go blue!

July 20, 2008 at 10:03 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Way to go team, good luck for smooth driving tomorrow!

July 20, 2008 at 10:14 PM  
Blogger Wisniewski said...

Bravo, Blue. The race has become a grueling event but you just keep going fast and smooth. Here is the URL to Calgary CTV and their summary of the trailer hauls that teams did from Winnipeg to Brandon.

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080720/CGY_solar_car_080720/20080720/?hub=CalgaryHome

July 20, 2008 at 10:38 PM  
Blogger Michael Adams said...

nice going. There's a killer waterslide at the hotel we stayed at in Medicine Hat, you should totally use it. (I forget which one it was, but hopefully one of the Momentum guys can remember.)

July 20, 2008 at 10:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've been lurking, reading every bit of news since the race began! Thanks for the excellent updates, and most importantly, running such a great race.

I graduated (Dec. '92) before the 1993 race, so I never got to share in the fun/excitement of the actual race. (Furqan, I'm jealous. I appreciated the "old school" post!)

Now, back to my campaign for Michigan House of Reps.... (not nearly as much fun.)

Continuum, you make us all proud, Go Blue!

July 20, 2008 at 11:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

According to http://www.midsun.uwaterloo.ca/www, they passed the Principia team stopped by the side of the road.

July 20, 2008 at 11:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My understanding of that situation is that Principia's Ra 7 hit a massive pothole that bent a wheel rim. They pulled over and replaced the wheel and then overtook Waterloo again, I think

July 20, 2008 at 11:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh the time on the post on Waterloo's site must mean I'm wrong...

July 20, 2008 at 11:50 PM  
Blogger Furqan Nazeeri said...

Thx for the props, Doug...back atcha! Good luck in your campaign!

July 21, 2008 at 12:09 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi team! I live in Regina, and heard about the solar challenge race on the radio....so we went hunting for the racers! We passed by your team on the highway (3:30ish local time)...didn't see anyone else. We saw that U of Calgary had parked for the night at the checkpoint -- they thought they were the second team in.

As for the monotonous route....wait for the drive from Regina to Medicine Hat. I had forgotten how many trees/brush there is east of Regina...west is a totally different story.

Good luck in racing!

July 21, 2008 at 12:21 AM  
Blogger Brian Ignaut said...

I was in the Atlanta GA airport today and saw a report on CNN covering the race! Keep up the fast pace, you're doing great. Wish I could be there to welcome you to Calgary this week.

July 21, 2008 at 12:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

@Mike Adams

I think the hotel was a Travel Lodge... I seem to remember a creepy giant teddy bear wearing pajamas. But maybe I just dreamt that part. I guess we were pretty sleep deprived back in the summer of '05.

-DMass

July 21, 2008 at 12:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I had know idea the speeds varied so much!

July 21, 2008 at 1:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you, Michigan team and Continuum, for running such a great race! It is so much fun reading about your progress and the posts. It doesn't get much better than rooting for the team that is doing so well... in addition to one that has integrity and a sense of humor. Again, thanks!!!
Go blue--go smooth--go fast! Thinking of you and appreciate your competence. (another anonymous)

July 21, 2008 at 1:29 AM  
Blogger Neil Tambe said...

Way to go team!

Go Smooth, Go fast, go Blue!!

July 21, 2008 at 7:15 AM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Unofficial position updates (rank rumor and speculation):

Michigan camped about halfway between Regina and Moose Jaw, 30 miles past the last checkpoint, about 269 miles from Medicine Hat. They were the only team to go on past Regina. Expect them to reach Medicine Hat around noonish.

Principia had problems yesterday, as in multiple stops by the side of the road and driving 25-35 mph. The result is they stopped near Broadview, about 100 miles short of the Regina checkpoint, and 130 miles behind of Michigan. Other teams passed them physically, but they will still be in 2nd overall. They have 400 miles and one checkpoint between them and Medicine Hat. They may have to trailer part way. That makes me sad somehow.

Bochum camped about 50 miles from Regina. That means they passed Principia, but not by enough to make up the 5 hour lead Principia had built up.

Arizona reportedly camped with Bochum, but Arizona must have trailered part of that distance.

Missouri camped just outside of Regina. They trailered their car at the beginning of the race day, from Winnipeg to Brandon, in order to get out from under the clouds and find some sunlight to refuel with.

Calgary reportedly made it to Regina, maybe under their own power the whole way. If so, terrific job!

Waterloo reportedly passed Principia, but I don't know where they called it a night. Don't think they trailered at all.

No word on Minnesota.

Red River apparently stopped way short of Regina and trailered to the outskirts to make camp.

Last SPOT tracking position for Queen's is still in Brandon.

No info on the others, except for reports that many teams trailered to Brandon and ran from there.

July 21, 2008 at 7:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Based on Principia website, they camped about 140 mi east of Continuum team. That appears to have them falling further behind?

July 21, 2008 at 7:57 AM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Jim Van Hoy,

That is an affirmative. Principia has lost 2 or 3 hours on Michigan. Bochum has caught up an hour or more. For Bochum to take 2nd, though, they would have to make up 3 to 4 more hours.

Michigan now has a lead of 3 to 4 hours.

July 21, 2008 at 8:55 AM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Calgary did decide to trailer from Winnipeg to Brandon before driving on to Regina. They were the only team other than Michigan to reach Regina on Sunday.

Minnesota reports camping for the night about 60 miles short of Regina. Iowa State made camp right beside them. Waterloo is reported to be slightly ahead of them.

Iowa State must have done some trailering to get up there. Minnesota and Waterloo have managed to make it without any trailering. They are very determined. The Minnesota blog says in NASC'05, this stage was scheduled at 3 days.

With sunny skies, Minnesota and Waterloo just might make it to Medicine Hat in time. Barely.

Still don't know the whereabouts of Durham, Kentucky, and Northwestern.

July 21, 2008 at 9:44 AM  

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Updated Standings!

I now have updated standings from the end of Stage Three (posted this morning in Winnipeg).

Michigan: 34:14:01
Principia: 35:35:37
FH Bochum: 40:59:51
Waterloo: 42:05:46
Minnesota: 42:58:22
Calgary: 51:09:39
S&T (Rolla): 53:19:54
Red River: 59:19:39
Iowa State: 63:52:37
Kentucky: 66:55:55
Arizona: 67:05:08
Northwestern: 69:51:30 * trailering penalty not added yet
Queen's: 73:16:45
Oregon State: 83:03:21
Durham: 90:56:48


Unfortunately only five teams did not have to trailer at some point to reach Winnipeg. Those teams are Michigan, Principia, Bochum, Minnesota, and Waterloo. This last leg was hard on teams as many got stuck in the rain and many teams did not have much power.

12 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Fantastic, thanks for posting the update, everyone's been looking for official numbers. Keep it up!!

July 20, 2008 at 5:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

great work everyone...sounds like the car is running OK.

Thanks to the oftern updates to the blog this year...it makes it interesting for us fans.

Thanks for adding the pictures to some of the entries it gives us some idea of what is going on out there....two pictures I liked...the solar car coming up on the customs booth...and the solar car in the parade...both will make great entries if there is an official video.

Thanks for the other people chipping in on the blog...TC must be doing this full time.

Keep it up. Calgary for Maria and I was a real high light 3 years ago when the solar car came cruising in.

Enjoy the race.

Bob and Maria Hayes

July 20, 2008 at 5:44 PM  
Blogger Michael Adams said...

I think we'll see a lot more trailering for the Winnipeg-Medicine Hat stage. That's definitely a large swathe to cover in time, even for the front-runners.

July 20, 2008 at 5:52 PM  
Blogger Wisniewski said...

Congratulations on the 2 maize hats for car #2. Your execution was fun to watch at qualifying and now following along on the blog. My favorite, so far, has to be your adaptability of merging into the parade.

Enjoy your final camping night, Team Continuum!

July 20, 2008 at 6:05 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Nice, nice guys. Now you just need to get that hour and 40 minutes back... Too bad you haven't had the opportunity to stop for any period of time and write up a protest... It is really a testament to the last-minute planning that went into this NASC that only 5 cars made it into Winnipeg on time... Go Blue!

-Rbt

July 20, 2008 at 6:52 PM  
Blogger dkadams said...

Nice going, Continuum!

Here's a link to a few photos we took at the Sioux Falls stage stop:
http://picasaweb.google.com/dkadams79/
NASCSiouxFalls

Steve & Donna Adams

July 20, 2008 at 6:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Also glad to hear that all goes well.
Principia is still hanging tough, though. It appears that about everyone has been methematically eliminated---so long as nothing important happens to Continuum.

Question: Will you go for maximum time, or play it conservative to cruise to victory?

Jay. LSA '72

GO BLUE

July 20, 2008 at 6:53 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Average speed to Winnipeg worked out to 42.9 mph. Looks like Momentum's speed record (46.2)is safe.

July 20, 2008 at 7:20 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Yay! :-P

If I were doing Strategy, I would aim for the pack to be about 5% full at the end of the race - that's a pretty good safety factor, and we had very accurate weather control, err, forecasting. :)

That's about where we ended in '05, but that was mainly due to the missing fairing window. Otherwise, the short 65mph run to Calgary would have left us almost half the pack.

-Rbt

July 20, 2008 at 7:33 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Ahhhh, too bad the penalties have already been assessed for Stage 3 ... otherwise NASC could have issued a 2 hour penalty for improper participation in a parade, as well as for driving more than 2.2 mph in a parade procession (due to observer notes, of course, the van speedo was reading 5!)...

-Rbt

July 20, 2008 at 7:59 PM  
Blogger Doug Carroll said...

As many have said, Thanks very much for keeping the blog up to date! The best and most current information for the race comes from the Michigan web site.

We haven't heard from Oregon State, Northwestern, Arizona, Kentucky, Iowa State or Red River in a few days. If possible, please encourage them to write an update. We enjoy reading how all the teams are doing.

Thanks again for your efforts on this web site!

July 20, 2008 at 8:00 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Looks like Red River stopped for the night in Grenfell, Saskatchewan, about 77 miles from Regina. They will probably need a lift to Medicine Hat tomorrow.

Queen's is still in Brandon, 227 miles from Regina. They may need to trailer all the way to Medicine Hat.

Michigan reportedly made it past Regina and camped somewhere on the road to Moose Jaw.

Missouri reports they trailered out from under the clouds then drove to just short of Regina. They also said, "Michigan continues to build a big lead over everyone, including, we think, over Principia, which wasn't really keeping up today." Principia not keeping up? That's big.

July 20, 2008 at 9:01 PM  

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Out of Brandon

We officially got into Brandon at 11:53:15 am. We saw Principia enter shortly before we left, but I was unable to grab an official time before we left. Now heading toward Regina, we are under partial clouds. We are over 10 km out and just over 210 km from Regina.

3 Comments:

Blogger Michael Adams said...

Way to go guys! Keep stretching the lead.

July 20, 2008 at 2:14 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Fast fast fast. Awesome!

July 20, 2008 at 2:42 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Looks from their tracker like Queen's has reached Brandon, but has been stuck there for the last 2 or 3 hours. Do they have a problem? Maybe they're just charging after the cloudy run so far.

Red River's tracker shows them maybe a quarter of a way from Brandon to Regina.

Michigan hasn't reached Regina yet. From their speed so far today, they may need another hour to get there.

Presumably, Principia, Bochum, Waterloo, Minnesota, and Calgary are somewhere in between.

July 20, 2008 at 4:38 PM  

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Arrival In Brandon

We are just arriving in Brandon - one stop light from the checkpoint. And we are out under sun!

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

...and how we l-o-v-e that sun!

Go--go--GO...........
Smooth, Fast, and Blue!!!

Appreciate comments; thanks for additional info.

(another anonymous)

July 20, 2008 at 1:19 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

They started at 10 o'clock our time. So 2:53 for this leg. About 47 mph. Pretty good for a cloudy day.

July 20, 2008 at 1:23 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Keep it up, dodge those clouds!

July 20, 2008 at 1:29 PM  
Blogger Michael Adams said...

Beware of Saskatchewan roads. They're bumpy and desolate. The only part it gets a little interesting is when you're entering Regina.

July 20, 2008 at 2:03 PM  

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Out of Winnipeg

With zero minutes of penalties in this previous stage we won stage three of the race and were awarded yellow hats!

We are currently on TC1 heading west to Brandon. This is the shortest leg of the race and we are facing clouds and rain. Then onward to Regina, Medicine Hat, and then Calgary.

16 Comments:

Blogger Michael Adams said...

Way to go, guys. Make sure your drivers stay awake for this stretch. All the cities are set off from the highway, and there isn't a hill until Calgary, so it gets a little boring.

Too bad you don't have Brian in the caravan anymore to induce "massive head" winds to trouble the other teams.

July 20, 2008 at 11:00 AM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Hmm. Brian Ignaut = B. Ignaut ~ Big Nut. I seem to recall a story about a helmet not fitting on Brian's extra brainy cranium. (I think Michael is jealous.)

Calgary is about a half mile higher than Winnipeg. Is the increase in altitude all at the end, or is it a gentle slope all across the prairie?

Brad, you're slipping on the weather control. Rain and clouds? C'mon, we want sun and tailwinds.

Good job, team, on winning more yellow hats! And especially good job on zero penalties.

July 20, 2008 at 11:19 AM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Any news on official timings coming into Winnipeg? And especially on if everyone made it yesterday?

July 20, 2008 at 11:25 AM  
Blogger Peter said...

Too bad one has to swap drivers at this point. Though I still don't think anyone would be capable of beating Mike "straight shot" Adams' amazing 21+ hour drive to TX :)

Does anyone know if we have any bus drivers on race crew?

Re the weather, hope it doesn't turn into another "Cloud Crawl '99". At least we're in the lead, and i swear that the yellow hats make us go faster.

Great job on the no penalties. I'm looking forward to another massive lead gain until the World's Largest Tipi.

July 20, 2008 at 11:34 AM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Okay, if they won't update the standings on the NASC site, I'll take a stab at it. I don't know the penalties, nor trailering times, so I can only try to estimate the overall times for the first five.

1) Michigan - 34:18
2) Principia - 35:35
3) FH Bochum - 40:56
4) Waterloo - 42:09
5) Minnesota - 42:50

Missouri had a 1:18 lead on Calgary starting stage 3. But Calgary passed S&T. The question is, did Calgary make all of that up, or not? They both lost hours on Minnesota. They are probably in the 45+ hour range now.

Gaps have widened some. Michigan has > 1 hour lead. And look at that gap between 2nd and 3rd! Principia has over 5 hours on Bochum. Then Bochum has an hour lead on Waterloo. The closest is the 41 minute gap between Waterloo and Minnesota. That could get interesting. Minnesota may have time to erase Waterloo's lead. It would be hard to catch the Germans, though, almost 2 hours ahead.

Rain and clouds this morning in Winnipeg. Most teams will not have a full charge in their batteries. In fact, I would be surprised if anybody other than Michigan and Principia did. Until they break through to the sunshine, this could be a very slow leg.

July 20, 2008 at 11:49 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Since you can't wear more than one hat at once, I think they should have invested in yellow t-shirts, jackets, shorts, etc. It works in with the Maize & Blue colow scheme!

TC, you read my mind, I was about to suggest that you take a guess at the times, since you are probably the most well informed fan out there. Hopefully your estimates are right!

Go Blue, smooth sailing to Medicine Hat!

July 20, 2008 at 11:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Queens has a GPS tracker, showing its location online. For inexplicable (to me) reasons, Queens has no elapsed time showing in the standings. With 0 time this should put them way ahead of Continuum, et al!
I just realized (okay I am slow on the uptake) that the name of the Michigan solar car is Continu-UM.
Here is Queen's GPS location:
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?&glId=0qftO4yFMVX4IBSQXfYU9XCsnpcaiNNiR

July 20, 2008 at 12:06 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Thanks, Maggie.

Good news: Queen's University's SPOT tracker shows they're about halfway to Brandon. (We gotta get one of these for next race. Tuck it in the chase car somewhere. Anybody know how big they are, or how much they cost?)

July 20, 2008 at 12:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

As always, cheering on the Maize & Blue from A2! I'm grateful for your good fortune and so proud of how you're all representing us in character and accomplishment.

"May the road rise up to meet you, and may the wind always be at your back [so long as it helps Continuum perform optimally]."

Rainey
just another of the 400K+ alums

July 20, 2008 at 12:06 PM  
Blogger Alex Dowling said...

Unfortunately official standings were not released by NASC this morning.

July 20, 2008 at 12:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Below is a better, shorter, URL for Queen's tracker. They appear to be at least half way to Brandon.

http://tinyurl.com/5kvtd8

GO BLUE

July 20, 2008 at 12:10 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

FYI TC, Michigan does have a GPS tracker - manufactured by my company:

http://caflor.net/gps.html

However, they understandably don't want to publicize the information, so I'm not going to link to it here.

-Robert

July 20, 2008 at 12:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

TC:
The gps tracker price is $169.99. The size is about 4.5" by 3". See URL below.
No, I am not getting any money for telling this. I am not smart enough to make money off something as cool as that.
http://tinyurl.com/5cyxn3

GO BLUE

July 20, 2008 at 12:30 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

We fans may have to get our own, and maybe Maggie or her parents can stick it on the chase car when no one's looking.

July 20, 2008 at 12:35 PM  
Blogger Michael Adams said...

Re: to Peter - I sat out for about 4 hours on that drive, unfortunately. I drove from Ann Arbor to Arkansas, then slept until we hit daylight in Dallas, then finished the drive from Dallas to Austin. I really only drove about 17 hours of that drive. Though I did do the full distance from Ann Arbor to Topeka for FSGP.

And, if any members of the "Infinium" team are reading this, and you're planning on being a driver, I highly recommend becoming a bus driver. It really lowers your expectations of proper performance of a vehicle. Slow acceleration and wide turning radius - both things that help the efficiency of the solar car. It's also fun and pays pretty well, too.

July 20, 2008 at 1:27 PM  
Blogger Brian Ignaut said...

This is what I get for being out of town for 4 days and not keeping up with the frequent commentary. I couldn't help the massive headwinds, it was a combination of Ignaut genetics and the annoying drivers who would pace Momentum and snap pictures.

I'm so proud of the whole Continuum team, you're truly capitalizing on all the capabilities of that amazing car as well as your well-trained group of students. This is what the 2007-2008 program was meant to do. You're continuing what has made solar car great for the last 18 years.

July 21, 2008 at 1:12 AM  

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Saturday, July 19, 2008

Arrival in Winnipeg

Well, the team has arrived in Winnipeg at 11:32 am. We have impounded the battery and are now taking the rest of the day to check over the vehicle and get everything prepared for tomorrow. In addition there are many things going on today. Red River College is hosting this Stage Stop and they have planned a BBQ for the team, opened the gym for floor hockey, and will play a movie for teams to enjoy this evening. And now for some images from stage 3.


Continuum reaches the border and prepares for Canadian customs.


We reach the town of Morris and the Canadian police and other folks on horses proceeded us into the parade.



The main caravan proceeds as part of the parade.


Weather and Scout follow Chase through Morris.


After flagging us around the turn by Red River College, Josh runs to meet us at the Stage Stop.

Labels: ,

13 Comments:

Blogger Wisniewski said...

Wow, what a great time. Please let us know how the hockey tournament goes.

GO GET 'EM TEAM CONTINUUM!

July 19, 2008 at 3:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am confused. The pictures show the scout car following the chase car in the parade. Why would the scout car be behind?

July 19, 2008 at 3:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

When did your remaining competition arrive in Winnipeg

July 19, 2008 at 4:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Reading the last few entries, I'm so impressed by the collegiality of all the teams, all of you helping each other do your best. What a terrific example of friendly competition - Keep up the great work! Dr. Montgomery

July 19, 2008 at 5:10 PM  
Blogger Steven Hechtman said...

Anonymous,

When weather and scout arrived at the parade, they spoke with local police and were told that our caravan could not bypass the parade and would have to wait. Weather and scout worked with parade officials to let us into the parade. The caravan made it to the parade route right as it was about to start--therefore we were let in as the third "float" in the parade. Weather and scout followed behind, having been waiting at the beginning to broker the deal.

George,

Principia arrived 56 minutes after we did. They were followed later by Minnesota, Waterloo, and Bochum. Most (if not all) of the other teams were forced to trailer to make it to Winnipeg. We should have more details after tonight's race meeting. Keep in mind, the 56 minute gap does not reflect time off of the clock at the border. One of our team members had to go into the border station to get her visa stamped, so the time taken to do this will be removed from our elapsed time.

July 19, 2008 at 7:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the explanation (about the scout car in the parade) Steve.
I hope the parade watchers enjoyed continuum.
GO BLUE!

July 19, 2008 at 8:47 PM  
Blogger Elson said...

I love the photos of the race caravan in the parade. No doubt it was good PR for solar racing and for UofM. :-)

July 19, 2008 at 8:52 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Hey, the Strategy team timed it so Michigan would be the only team getting a parade. :) Go Blue!

-Rbt

July 19, 2008 at 9:34 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Quick weather report. Environment Canada says Winnipeg and Brandon will have showers and clouds tomorrow. Regina will have sunny skies, if anyone can reach them.

July 19, 2008 at 10:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Principia radio will have its nightly audio show on the solar race: It is at 10:00.
It is a good show.
http://www.prin.edu/public/index.pl/radio_podcast


GO BLUE

July 19, 2008 at 10:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Principia'a radio show is 11:00 pm A2 time

July 19, 2008 at 10:55 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

My guesstimate for overall standings:

1) Michigan
2) Principia
3) FH Bochum
4) Waterloo
5) Minnesota
6) Calgary
7) Missouri S&T
8) Red River

and I can't even guess the others. I won't try to guess the time intervals either, except to say it looks like the first three have stretched out, but 4 and 5 may be closing on third. The only change in order from last time is Calgary passing Missouri S&T.

3 of the top 8 are Canadian entries (Waterloo, Calgary, and Red River). Third place is German (Bochum). The other four, including the top two spots, American, and all from middle American states (Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri). Nothing from the left or right coast, nor down south. Not sure what to make of that.

July 20, 2008 at 8:49 AM  
Blogger Peter said...

I think this kind of compensates for the time Chito stopped a train for the team...

Also, now when you get decked with speeding penalties you have clear evidence that you were going no faster than the horses holding things up.

Dr. Montgomery, great to see you cheering the team on!

GO BLUE!

July 20, 2008 at 11:20 AM  

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And across the border we go

The team is now in Canada under 100 miles (or rather 160 km) from Winnipeg. Continuum has also partaken in it's first parade. The city of Morris, Mt holds an annual stampede and it just so happened that this morning the festivities began with a parade. The town welcomed us and let us join their parade. Following two horse drawn carriages and a float we turned on all of our caravan lights and joined in. We were followed by our weather and scout vehicles who arrived earlier to ensure our safe passage through the parade. The parade announcer was unsure of what this yellow car-thingy was and said he still preferred horses. After a short while the parade route turned right and we continued straight on the race route to Winnipeg. I will post a few pictures when we arrive in Winnipeg.

Labels: ,

8 Comments:

Blogger Michael Adams said...

Is everyone going to get a parade? I would think it would only be fair...we're in a race!! We could've lost crucial time!!

July 19, 2008 at 12:20 PM  
Blogger Charles Eichhorst said...

Principia might get caught up in it, but I think everyone else is going to miss it.

Michigan is now less than 10 minutes away from the stage stop.

July 19, 2008 at 12:23 PM  
Blogger Charles Eichhorst said...

Arrival time in Winnipeg: 11:32
Total time for stage 3: 12:32
Distance: 530 mi
Average Speed: 42.3 mph

July 19, 2008 at 12:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Aw come on!
So what if a few minutes were lost in the parade! Winning aint everything (...and I am as competitive as anybody). I suspect that publicity is one thing that this race has had a severe shortage of. We UM cheerleaders should hope that the M car appear in many more parades to come.
Viva la parades. Way better than hail and rain.
RE:
Is everyone going to get a parade? I would think it would only be fair...we're in a race!! We could've lost crucial time!!

July 19, 2008 at 1:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Speaking of Principia, did anyone find out when they made it in?

July 19, 2008 at 2:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

What rediculous luck to arrive in the middle of the parade. That's even crazier than trying to evade the herds of sheep that hang out in the middle of the Stewart Highway! If anyone has any parade video, it's got to be entertaining if there's any way to post it.

July 19, 2008 at 2:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Now that's a first for solar car racing! The odds of that happening are so slim...

Now how on earth would could you work that into a strategy... :-)

July 19, 2008 at 5:04 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Just got back from a wedding. My favorite niece got married! Anything interesting happen in the meantime? What the . . . ? A frackin' parade? Are you kidding me? What are the rules regarding this? Any penalties other than driving through horse droppings?

Charles, thanks for the numbers.

How many teams made it to Winnipeg on their own power? The next stage, Winnipeg to The Hat is over 130 miles longer, but still only allotted 2 days. Michigan should be able to make that, probably by early afternoon Monday. Principia by mid-afternoon. Maybe 2 or 3 more without trailering.

July 19, 2008 at 10:06 PM  

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Friday, July 18, 2008

End of the day, north of Fargo

Today was a great day. We ran for over 9 hours with only 4 minutes on the side of the road for a required driver swap. Because the distance between Sioux Falls and Fargo was too great to complete in under 6 hours and our drivers are only allowed to drive for a max of 6 hrs a day, we swapped drivers at a safe location outside of town. Paula drove this afternoon and completed the day at 6:03pm just north of Grand Forks. With pasta on the stove, work completed on the vehicle, and the tent already set up, tonight hopefully we will get a decent amount of sleep and be ready to race tomorrow.

21 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Where are the Christian Scientists

July 18, 2008 at 10:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Principia has a radio-cast NOW!
http://www.prin.edu/public/index.pl/radio_podcast

They are in Grand Forks.

jay
LSA '72

July 18, 2008 at 11:13 PM  
Blogger dkadams said...

Well done, Momentum!

There was a large, fun, and enthusiastic group of team parents, former team parents, former team members, and other supporters in Sioux Falls to cheer the Michigan team as they left this morning at 9 a.m. It was fun to see so many maize & blue shirts!

We're all so proud of how well you team members are doing and what a credit you are to your program and your school. In Sioux Falls you were a class act in the way you responded to questions from passersby and the media, helped each other and the other teams, and demonstrated a high level of professionalism.

Best of luck with the last stages of the race, which we will continue to follow via computer. Go BLUE!

Steve & Donna Adams

July 18, 2008 at 11:23 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

This is actually in response to Maggie from a couple posts down, regarding our nerd-crush on Hans Tholstrup.

One of the finest solar car images ever.

Good luck tomorrow, Blue, and say yah to Canada, eh?

July 18, 2008 at 11:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh I just remembered this, here's an image of special importance to UM fans...it's a package of sunflower seeds:

http://tinyurl.com/579bvj

July 18, 2008 at 11:34 PM  
Blogger Charles Eichhorst said...

According to Google Maps, Michigan ended 45 minutes away from Principia. I've also been told that Principia stopped early. If Prinicpia stopped at 5:45, then Michigan should have added about 30 minutes to their lead today, increasing their total lead to about 50 minutes. Go Blue!

July 18, 2008 at 11:59 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

MapQuest says Grafton, ND is about 120 miles from Winnipeg. So Michigan should reach Winnipeg around 10 or 11 o'clock.

Somewhere on the road between Sioux Falls and Fargo, they passed the halfway point. They have something like 4 and a half days to finish the 2nd half of the race.

I feel like we've been neglecting the other teams. Anyone know Fargo times for Bochum, Waterloo, Minnesota, etc? Have the slower teams reached Fargo yet?

July 19, 2008 at 6:58 AM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Ask (and scan some other blogs) and ye shall receive. Missouri S&T reports they made Fargo at 5:45 and decided to spend the night there. They say Waterloo, FH Bochum, Minnesota, and Calgary, in that order, preceded them. Iowa State, Red River, and Arizona came in after.

Apparently, S&T, Waterloo, Bochum, Minnesota, and Calgary had been traveling in a pack, switching positions back and forth as various glitches, and clouds appeared. Then Missouri had a serious problem and lost telemetry. The result of that and cloudy weather is that they don't think they will have a full charge to start the run to Winnipeg.

July 19, 2008 at 7:12 AM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Minnesota reports they had a good day racing and camped 40 miles south of Grand Forks. They think Bochum, Waterloo, and Calgary are somewhere near them. They expect to make Winnipeg today easily.

And they say the popping sounds from before were fuses blowing because their shutdown procedure wasn't working properly. So they know what that problem is, and it's not serious.

July 19, 2008 at 7:25 AM  
Blogger Wisniewski said...

about the border crossing .. a note from the Calgary blog .. "If we sail through customs, our travel clock keeps ticking: if they decide to inspect all of our vehicles, the clock stops, but we have to cover the car with a tarp to avoid charging of the array. "

July 19, 2008 at 8:17 AM  
Blogger Charles Eichhorst said...

We're in Canada!

July 19, 2008 at 10:43 AM  
Blogger Hostman said...

> And they say the popping sounds from before were fuses blowing because their shutdown procedure wasn't working properly.
> So they know what that problem is, and it's not serious.

Well, I would say that anytime you're blowing fuses, that is very serious. A fuse acts as a last-ditch preventer of large-scale electrical mayhem/fire, and it's fully possible the fuse is defective itself, or that the same engineering geniuses who couldn't get the shutdown to work correctly also oversized the fuse. So you really can't depend on a fuse to save your butt, and you should be really worried if you're blowing them at all...

Hopefully they have it worked out and aren't just replacing the fuses everytime the car shuts down!

Good to see Michigan is picking up some more time. :)

-Rbt

July 19, 2008 at 10:48 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1.) Who says they're not worried about the fuses.

2.) Alleged over-sized fuses vs. undersized braking systems... to each his own.

July 19, 2008 at 11:01 AM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Well, the brake system is *similar* in sizing to that used on:

'01 M-Pulse
'03 SpectrUM
'05 MomentUM

So, that's really not the issue. I think Garrick was proposing the issue was due to running on worn-out pads, which is something that people do all the time in their real cars. The only difference is now you don't have the nice properties of the pad materials for thermal resistance, but instead the steel backing.

This is fine for normal driving for a period of time, and should be ok thermally for several emergency stops. Of course, if you had to emergency brake under those circumstances you would let the pads cool before continuing... but probably if you had to emergency brake, something else more dramatic is going on.

In order for a brake system to pass regulations, you need to be able to apply enough force to almost lock the wheel. Of course, the ideal braking modality is not a locked wheel but at maximum static mu (i.e. right before the wheel locks). Worn-out pads should continue to support these characteristics...

-Rbt

July 19, 2008 at 11:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Morris at 11 AM.

July 19, 2008 at 11:19 AM  
Blogger Hostman said...

So 10 AM race time? That's pretty good - 40 mi from Winnipeg!

July 19, 2008 at 11:20 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

At 75 & Maple Leaf 100 as of 10:55 AM.

July 19, 2008 at 11:54 AM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

Robert is correct, as to my knowledge the issue was worn out pads rather than broken, undersized, or otherwise seriously defective brakes (again this is pending official confirmation from the team). The brakes on Continuum are plenty strong enough to lock the wheels (and the road outside the workshop has the skid marks to prove it). Ironically, larger brakes would be heavier and thus make the car stop slower, because, as Robert alluded to, your stopping power is limited not by the size of your brakes but by the max friction coefficient of your tires (every solar car uses either the same or essentially the same tires).

In a case of worn pads, you could say, reasonably, "these brakes will be capable of stopping the car just as quickly as ever in an emergency, and, in the worst case, will damage themselves and need more significant repair after such a situation - but either way, as soon as we stop to fix the brakes we're done for the day, so let's go on a bit farther until we find a nice safe spot to stop and set up shop where we can do the job right and don't have to worry about getting sideswiped by rush hour traffic. As an added measure, we'll drive slow and not use the mech brakes unless absolutely necessary to avoid putting any more stress on them." Just my theory of what may have been going through the team's head, it's probably how I'd approach it. Of course the observers are by necessity going to be quite conservative about these things, so from that perspective a reaction of "Oh my god the brakes are making nasty noises, clearly these kids are trying to kill themselves" is understandable, and a penalty from that perspective may be fair.

I sincerely hope Minnesota was able to cure their fuse ills - sounds like some sort of short across the array when they shut off, which can, pretty easily, fry your whole electrical system. More troubling, it can set your whole car on fire - a carbon fiber and lithium battery fire is hugely dangerous, as evidenced by the 2005 Aurora car, which burned so completely they don't even know exactly what happened, because nothing left was big enough to investigate (some parts literally melted into the road). I hope things are worked out like they report, as I'd like to see them competitive and in the hunt for a good place.

July 19, 2008 at 1:31 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

A bit more brake-blogging:

I should mention that it's unclear how many of Continuum's brakes were worn - the car, unlike many solar cars, has hydraulic brakes on all three wheels, plus a regenerative brake on the motor. The regenerative brake is fully capable of stopping the car (albeit not as quickly), and won't fail unless the motor controller fails. The most likely wheel to suffer brake wear first is the front, which takes the most force, however between regenerative braking and the brakes on the two rear wheels Continuum could still stop in a hurry, especially if the speed is already pretty low. So there is a fair amount of redundancy in the system to keep the driver safe.

July 19, 2008 at 1:40 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Congratulations on your progress so far! (though it's a bit unfortunate about the penalties...a bit too severe IMO if you were in fact able to lock the wheels on dry asphault with the brakes you had on)

Btw, thanks to TC for the kind words about the '05 and '07 aero body : ) I've been pretty busy and haven't really gone through the blog intensely until now...so I just saw that post. But I must say that, wrt the '07-08 team, I only helped a little in giving Continuum some ideas, so the credit should go to Garrick and the '07 aero team for any aero-related successes in this race!

- Skip

July 19, 2008 at 3:44 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

A lot of the credit for Continuum (especially the canopy) also goes to CJ Rose, who's currently doing naval architecture for one of the oil companies down in Texas. And a lot of other individuals helped as well.

Of course, I learned just about everything about solar car aero from Skip, so he's not entirely blameless...

July 19, 2008 at 4:17 PM  

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Fargo

We are arriving in Fargo!  Quite a few people and media are here to greet us.

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31 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congrats to the team for reaching Fargo. I hope today's ride was smooth, uneventful and incredibly successful! Go Blue!

July 18, 2008 at 4:13 PM  
Blogger Furqan Nazeeri said...

And hopefully the penalty gremlins have been exorcised!

July 18, 2008 at 4:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

great work...how is principia doing?

Bob Hayes

July 18, 2008 at 4:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

274miles/6h = 45.7 mph not too shabby...so where is Principia?

July 18, 2008 at 5:28 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Charles Eichorst reports Michigan made it to Fargo 13 minutes ahead of Principia. I don't know Charles, but I want to believe him.

Whatever the penalty was (and apparently the 90 minutes was assessed for just one infraction), the Michigan team knows what it was and won't let it happen again. I do know the Crew Chief, and he'll be watching for it.

July 18, 2008 at 5:30 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

I'm sorry, it's Charles Eichhorst. I owe him an 'h'

July 18, 2008 at 5:32 PM  
Blogger Charles Eichhorst said...

Maybe I should have introduced myself earlier. I've been on the team since 2006, and currently working on designs for the 2009 car. I'm getting my information from the chat tool the team uses, so I usually have access to more information than is posted to the blog.

On a side note, I did have a chance to meet TC Lambert at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, although I can't blame him for not remembering since I don't know why I remember that.

July 18, 2008 at 5:50 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Way to go team, great job bouncing back. Good luck with the border crossing tomorrow, hopefully everybody's got their passports ready! Also, I seem to recall the mosquitos being as large as birds up there, break out the OFF!

July 18, 2008 at 6:28 PM  
Blogger Michael Adams said...

The mosquitoes weren't THAT bad. We just made the decision to camp near large bodies of standing water. Great for charging...bad for mosquitoes. Success always has its price....

July 18, 2008 at 6:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We are cheering you on from a BHPBilliton diamond mine in the Canadian far north. Keep the updates coming!

July 18, 2008 at 8:17 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

It's 8:30. Does anyone know where are children are?

July 18, 2008 at 8:26 PM  
Blogger Wisniewski said...

Charles, you were the dynamometer guru..before it was retired..right?

As of Fargo, the estimated Continuum overall lead is 32 to 33 minutes. How does that compare to the battle with Minnesota in 2005?

July 18, 2008 at 8:30 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

Well, now, young 'un, back in ought five, Minnesota was ahead at this point. And MIT was second. Michigan caught 'em and passed 'em on the windy plains of Canada.

July 18, 2008 at 8:36 PM  
Blogger Charles Eichhorst said...

I don't have an exact location, but it looks like they ended up somewhere around Grand Forks, ND

July 18, 2008 at 8:36 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

To be more specific, (if I remember correctly) in 2005 we were behind Minnesota by about half an hour at this point. By the end of the race we made up an hour and won by half an hour.

July 18, 2008 at 8:38 PM  
Blogger Charles Eichhorst said...

Yes, I was the 'dynamometer guru'

July 18, 2008 at 8:40 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

The wife says she thinks we passed MIT before Winnipeg in '05. Minnesota was ahead by a little bit at Winnipeg, less than an hour I believe. We caught 'em and passed 'em somewhere on the road to Medicine Hat.

Are you trying to cast us in Minnesota's role, and Principia in Michigan's? You think Principia will do better in the windy conditions? They do have a slick look. And I hear that Chris Vermillion helped with their aero design. Chris did Momentum's aero design, and also helped with Continuum's. He's the best aero guy there is. (Eat it, Burt Rutan!)

July 18, 2008 at 8:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Principia says they are at Grand Forks ND, and that they have travelled 1243.4 miles. See their website. http://www.principiasolarcar.com/nasc
I don't blame people cheering for the little 'un that could. Everybody loves an underdog, except for those of us who are UMich gradjets.

Jay
LSA '72

July 18, 2008 at 8:53 PM  
Blogger Chris Hilger said...

Nice work Michigan. Hopefully tomorrow is another successful day. I hope to see you all in Winnipeg

July 18, 2008 at 8:56 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

For those who are MapQuest challenged, Grand Forks is about 80 miles north of Fargo, and about 145 miles south of Winnipeg. Of course, MapQuest said to take the freeway. That would mean Continuum drove about 355 miles in 8.5 hours = about 42 mph. The plus or minus on this one is pretty big.

July 18, 2008 at 8:59 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

But Fargo is 1215 miles from the starting line. 1243 is only 28 miles beyond that. Grand Forks is more like 1295 or maybe 1300 miles. Somebody's arithmetic is suspect here. Who you gonna trust, the Latin majors of Principia, or a UM grad?

July 18, 2008 at 9:06 PM  
Blogger Charles Eichhorst said...

I just received word that they stopped just south of Grafton, ND. I also found out a little more about the penalties. 1 hour was due to the brakes, and the rest was speeding and not stopping quickly enough at a stop light.

July 18, 2008 at 9:17 PM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Chris is indeed quite good with solar car aero. However, we must also salute Jason Kramb, who designed the very successful '01 car (as well as some others, I'm sure), and who is now working for Burt Rutan down @ Scaled...

From my 2c, running past the wear point on the brake pads does not a safety issue make, until perhaps 300-1000 miles have elapsed. Certainly not 15 minutes. But if your observer is non-technical, they might get flipped out about it. Oh well. Time to blast by those amber waves of ... prairie grass... on the one and only road in Canada. :)

Don't get stuck in Brandon, Manitoba as we did on Route Survey '05. They *closed* the only highway for like 16 hours, and then only plowed *one* lane. Jeez.

-Rbt

July 18, 2008 at 9:39 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Michael - the mosquitos *were* that bad, I could have used a couple extra pints of blood.

I believe in '05 we made it across the border right after Minnesota and MIT, and then passed MIT before Winnipeg. Michigan was definitely 2nd to start the Winnipeg to Medicine Hat leg and made up ground as Minnesota got buffeted around with cross winds. As for the finish - less than 12 minutes separated 1st and 2nd after 2500 miles, the teams crossed the finish line just over one minute apart.

July 18, 2008 at 9:43 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

I'm pretty sure I recall even Kramb referring to Burt as a genius, so let's just thank fate that he never got an itch to field a Scaled Composites solar car, or we'd be hosed. On the other hand, if he ever does, sign me up.

An interesting note of trivia (and I hope Jason is around somewhere to add to this if I get it wrong) is that apparently Scaled employees were allowed to put a memento of some kind onto one of the SpaceShipOne X-Prize flights (they needed ballast). Kramb's piece was a part from M-Pulse, so Michigan has the distinction of being the first solar car in space.

July 18, 2008 at 9:48 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

Also, for those wondering, Continuum handles pretty well in winds, even getting hit by a couple of dust devils while driving without any loss of control. Its short wheelbase and long tail, however, makes it look like it's rotating more than it really is, so the hypochondriacs in chase (among them, me) probably drove the drivers nuts asking them if they were okay.

July 18, 2008 at 9:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I second the mosquitos being *that* bad

July 18, 2008 at 9:57 PM  
Blogger Michael Adams said...

We never PHYSICALLY passed MIT into Winnipeg. We ended up at RRC about 4 minutes after them. They had a few speeding penalties, however, and that pushed into second for leaving Winnipeg.

July 18, 2008 at 10:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So Garrick, from your comments I take it that Continuum can sail well with the crosswinds?

In the years since solar car and following other racings sports like NASCAR and F1 I have a lot more respect for the work Kramb and the rest of the aero team did for MazieBlaze and MPulse.

July 18, 2008 at 10:08 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

She does indeed sail well, though the bigger profile can't help but get buffeted around a bit more than Momentum. And big crosswinds are always tough on your tires. But Continuum should be okay in anything shy of a Category 2.

July 18, 2008 at 11:21 PM  
Blogger Peter said...

Agreed with Adams on the situation. We were trying darned hard to pass MIT, and as luck would have it, it was their amazing 1000000 mph speedo that gave us the lead. As in, their speedo at one point read 1 million mph for a while, which cost them when they actually sped without knowing it.

To be fair, it's nearly impossible to pass on the one road in Canada. Especially when the other car is weaving like a slalom racer.

July 18, 2008 at 11:57 PM  

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A good start with unfortunate penalties

The official times have been released and as it stands we are leaving Sioux Falls in first place. Unfortunatly most of our lead has been lost due to penalties. With 1.5 hours of penalties we have reduced our lead to close to 14 minutes. The majority of the penalty time was caused by the actions of the team in the last 15 minutes of racing two days ago. After a few team meetings and discussions the team does believe that we acted safely and followed the protocols our team has set up. However we do see the other side of the coin and will not be protesting this penalty. Rather we will submit an explanation to the officials that allows our voice to be heard and gives them the chance to understand the mindset of the team and the procedures we have set up and have been running with for over 5000 miles.

The day has started pretty well. We are running for over 20 miles. We are currently in Minnesota heading north to Fargo!

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18 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

What were the penalties for?

July 18, 2008 at 11:32 AM  
Blogger Furqan Nazeeri said...

I think that might be an all-time Michigan record in terms of penalties!

July 18, 2008 at 11:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Are you guys jockeying with Principia for first place this morning?

Sucks about the penalties, but its part of the rayce and theres still plenty of time to build up another lead.

July 18, 2008 at 11:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

@furqan - The 99 team had to do a fair amount of trailering due to the lack of sun for 3/4 of the race, so thats proably the largest penalty. But this would be up there for a non-trailering offense.

July 18, 2008 at 11:35 AM  
Blogger Hostman said...

Well, we got about the same amount levied against us in Medicine Hat in '05, and we used logged telemetry data along with GPS data to show were were within the regulations, and all the penalties were removed. Good thing we collected all that data!

This sounds a little less cut-and-dry, but we can hope the race officials will come to a fair determination. Certainly any non-speeding penalty that is related to 15 minutes of driving should not be assessed more than 30 minutes in penalty time ... it's not like the pack was on *fire*, right? :-P

Best of luck team, I'm sure you'll pull through this per usual.

-Rbt

July 18, 2008 at 12:20 PM  
Blogger Wisniewski said...

Calgary News CTV is following the race. Here is a link to a video they posted covering Bochum and Michigan.
http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080716/CGY_solar_sneha_080716/20080716?hub=CalgaryHome

July 18, 2008 at 12:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd be really interested to hear what the penalties are.

Congrats to the strategy crew for building a lead, because this would be disastrous any other way.

@jose: remember that our array in '99 was also put out between 1/3 and 1/2 of rated power output. We couldn't even recover a full charge on a clear day at the Atlanta stage stop it was so bad.

July 18, 2008 at 12:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

@russ oh yeah I was just talking about the penalty number alone. The array and the weather just put us behind the eight ball, but it was still a fun ride.

July 18, 2008 at 12:55 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

I had a brief conversation with Ferman last night, and this particular violation was not one for which telemetry data would do much good. But the pack was not on fire. I'll leave it to someone on the team to explain fully when they have the time and feel it's appropriate to do so, but the gist of it is that the car had some mechanical issues at the end of the day. The team felt it was safe to press on until they could camp for the night at 5:45, but the race officials disagreed and assigned a penalty.

Again recall that that info is from last night when it sounds like this was still a bit up in the air and is thus in no way an official statement, I just hope to settle down the speculation a bit until the team can tell us more.

Also, the NASC webpage lists the official times with Michigan holding a lead of about 21 minutes, so it may be somewhat better than Ferman's report in the post.

July 18, 2008 at 1:41 PM  
Blogger TC Lambert said...

I got called in to work. Very frustrating. The safety regs should not be fuzzy enough that we think we can proceed and the official disagrees. At the very least the official in the chase car who is assessing these penalties should be able to say something. That disagreement apparently turned 15 minutes into 90 minutes. Obviously, if we know that's the trade-off, we should stop and fix whatever is wrong. Take the 15 minute hit rather than the 90 minute hit.

The official no doubt acted in good faith. But a disagreement over rule interpretation shouldn't be a 90 minute penalty.

I am upset with the NASC organizers now over a number of issues, one of which is the abysmal communications to us poor folks trying to follow the race. Another big one is about the solar concentrators. Another one is that the longest stage, Winnipeg to Medicine Hat, 662 miles, is only scheduled for 2 days. Only a few top teams can make that, and only if the weather is favorable. Neosho to Sioux Falls, 606 miles, was allotted 3 days.

The guy in charge of NASC doesn't know what he's doing.

July 18, 2008 at 5:03 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

TC, I understand you're upset, but keep in mind that there's more to the story than what I said before, or am even aware of.

I agree that, in disagreements over safety between the observer and the team, the observer should be required to give a verbal warning that the intend to pursue a penalty (generally observers don't penalize directly, they only make an observation that other officials later make a determination on). Generally they are not supposed to tell the team when they do this.

The logic behind verbal warning would be that, if it's truly unsafe, the observer should say something - the team may not be aware of the problem, or that it's something that should be considered unsafe. If it's safe enough to keep quiet about until the next stage stop, it probably should not be given a race-changingly large penalty.

With regards to your other criticisms, the guy in charge of NASC, Dan Eberle, is a fantastic, extremely knowledgable person, and this race would have died a long time ago without his persistence in believing it could happen long after a lot of people had given up on it.

A year ago, this event had no sponsor and no prospect of happening. Many if not all of the problems you note are the result of having to hastily organize an event on a minimal budget with a small staff. They are justifiably more concerned with keeping the race safe and well run than they are with putting fancy widgets on the website. This is precisely as it should be. Regulations also had to be developed quickly, with minimal time for debate between teams and race officials. As for the route and stops, much is determined by when venues can be scheduled, etc, things that are difficult to manage on short notice.

Despite the challenges faced by Eberle and the NASC crew, NASC has always been a well run, safe event, much more so than the World Solar Challenge in ways too numerous to list here. The very fact that we're complaining about a lack of GPS coverage rather than, say, making up stage rules two days into the race or releasing solar cars into rush hour traffic without their support vehicles is a testament to the dedication and skill of all the people who make NASC happen. While there are certainly constructive critcisms that can be made, we should really commend the NASC organizers and officials, without whom North American solar racing would be more or less dead.

July 18, 2008 at 5:59 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

TC I certainly share your frustration, I loved the GPS tracker in '05, I mainly used it to see where my own caravan vehicles were! But I mostly agree with Garrick. From what I understand this year's NASC is being run by volunteers (no paid employees), and on short funding and time. Not really excuses, but I think we're fortunate there is a race at all (remember they came within a week of canceling it all together)!

Regarding the penalties - No doubt the officials felt they were in the right, and it's pretty hard to argue with safety calls, but 90 minutes, wow! U of M never fails to make things interesting, it'd be no fun if the race wasn't filled with excitement, drama, close calls and lead changes. I have all the faith in the world that the Continuum team will come through this stronger than before!

July 18, 2008 at 6:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi TC and Garrick. TC I am surprised you went to work, it seems that with all the info you have been posting for us that you have not had time to sleep never mind work as well.
Regarding both your comments on the organisation of the event and WSC, yes i am frustrated too with the lack of feedback from the official website and confusion with rules and i was frustrated with the same thing for WSC.
But thinking about it a bit the best event ever was 1987 WSC, budget was $0.00 paid staff was 0 lots of volounteers all organised by one bloke who made all these evnts possible.
Let us all thank Hans Tholstup for making it all happen.

July 18, 2008 at 8:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I take more of an issue with the team putting their driver on public roads with overly worn brake pads (based on hearsay I know). If true, that is a ridiculous choice and they should be penalized. The fact that no details about what actually happened have been posted (updates from the road have been very prompt) and that the team isn’t pursuing an appeal tells me that this probably wasn’t a marginal call.

July 18, 2008 at 8:30 PM  
Blogger Garrick Williams said...

Well, little has been posted because last I knew little was finalized. And as your negative speculation indicates, the team putting out a little info can be worse than putting out none at all. Presumably they are waiting to put out a full report until they can settle down and write something coherent.

Also, worn brakes are a bit of a gray area - obviously running metal on metal all day is unsafe, but is, say, carrying on for a couple miles after you hit the wear indicator unsafe (they are of course, designed to warn you long enough ahead of time to get repair)? In between there's a lot of gray, where conceivably two reasonable people can come to different conclusions, so it's unfair to assume horrific guilt just because you don't have a detailed account.

Keep in mind as well that the race officials are by necessity going to be extremely conservative, while the team knows the car and what it can handle very well. Recognizing this and not protesting the official decision may be a mark of grace rather than an admission of guilt.

At any rate, you make a mistake, serve your time, learn from it, and move on, which is what Michigan appears to be doing.

To Steve:

Hans is, of course, basically the god of solar car. Eberle is comparatively a minor deity, but still worthy of the praise of mere solar mortals.

July 18, 2008 at 9:15 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Garrick you are totally right, we should all be thanking Hans and Dan for giving us unlimited reasons to avoid work and blog about nerdy stuff all day.

July 18, 2008 at 9:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, just checking out the blogs today and there is great information out here. I was lucky enough to see the start of the rayce, living in Plano, TX. My boys were impressed enough with the whole gathering that one of them is finally leaning towards U of M. I just hope we don't penalize ourselves into a situation like our football team! Keep up the great feed. BSEE '88 Go Blue!

July 19, 2008 at 10:39 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You misspelled "Minnesota"!

July 19, 2008 at 2:16 PM  

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Thursday, July 17, 2008

Images from Stage Two

One final set of images leading up until today. I will post more about the evening and a stage update tomorrow. We will be starting in the lead tomorrow morning at 9am!

Here Michigan is on the road making the final turn before we enter the Omaha checkpoint.


Continuum enters Iowa!


Traveling through Sioux Falls just before we enter the park for the stage stop. Just past the next intersection a police escort joined the caravan and led us into the stop.


Continuum enters the stage stop on a road lined with flags. NASC and American flags lined the entrance into Sioux Park (with British, German, and Canadian flags at the end for the international teams).


Lead and Chase line up at Sioux Falls just after we arrive.


We serve 30 minutes after arriving at Sioux Falls and point the array at the sun to help gain a charge before impounding our batteries.


A police escort lead in each caravan. Here they are leading Principia into the stage stop.


Principia enters the stage stop just over an hour after Michigan.

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Images from Stage One

Here is a set of images spanning from the start line to the Neosho Stage Stop.

From my viewpoint in Chase, Continuum rolling down the highway towards Neosho.


Continuum pulls into the Neosho stage stop.


Richard flags in Principia as they enter the stage stop behind us.


A nice picture of the University of Kentucky solar car as it arrives in Neosho.


Iowa State University pulls into Neosho and qualifies! Congrats!


After finding a puddle, we set up to charge at night hoping to fill the pack.


Charing at night while two team membres, Dan Eberle, and Garrett, our observer stand near the array.


The sun sets in Neosho, Mo.


The Missouri National Guard at Camp Crowder


The Missouri Army National Guard provides us with Barracks to spend the nights in Neosho at Camp Crowder


Two team members work to help the Minnesota team.


Crowder College offers us cold water, Coke, and Mountain Dew.


Steve moves over to Minnesota after inspecting our battery pack.


The last morning of the stage stop, we get a little extra charge before moving the car to the start line.


Lead and Chase vehicles for each team line up down the road in order ready to leave the Neosho Stage Stop.

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5 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

I love the pictures!! Very cool. I took a few of my own while down in Texas...

Qualifying

Display Day and Pre-Race

NASC Start Line

Mostly Michigan pictures, but there's one of each car as it gets the green flag. Enjoy!

July 17, 2008 at 8:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

where can I find the time for the "Stage Start" in Sioux Falls?

thanx in advance for prompt reply!!

July 17, 2008 at 8:27 PM  
Blogger Wisniewski said...

WELCOME to those that saw the announcement of this team website during the CTN CitiTV 19 coverage of the Ann Arbor Art Fair.

Note that the 2008 edition of the world's longest solar car race is about to begin stage 3. The race website is americansolarchallenge.org but as you can see, this blog is a wonderful way to follow the "rayce".

July 17, 2008 at 9:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yay! I've been waiting for pictures! Thanks for putting these up, and for making captions too! :D

July 17, 2008 at 9:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is Michigan only about 20+ minutes ahead. From previous posts here it looked like Michigan was over an hour ahead. Did Michigan receive penalty minutes on the second leg

July 18, 2008 at 7:49 AM  

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Some Images from the Start Line

Again continuing in the series of adding photos, here is a set of photos from the start of the race in Plano, Texas.

The official start line.


The solar car lane leading away from the start lined with NASC 2008 flags.


Robert Vogt, head strategist for both the 2003 and 2005 Michigan teams, and Brian Gilchrist, our faculty adviser, join us at the start of the race. Brian stayed with the team until we reached Sioux Falls.


Continuum and the team pose while waiting for the official all team photo to be taken.


Our lead and chase vehicles sit and wait for the start of the race. We were given American and Canadian flags to put on both vehicles. The start of this race was well organized. While the solar cars lined up at the start line, the lead and chase vehicles for each team were put in another line just after the start. When the solar car passed the starting line, the lead vehicle was already in front of the car ready to go. Chase quickly followed behind and we were off down the road.


Continuum sits in position 1 at the start line. Minnisota and Missouri S&T can be seen in the background.


The two Jeffs on the team stand in front of Continuum shortly before the race start.


The team is treated to dinner by the Dallas Alumni Club on Friday before the race begins.

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Aww, I love those group shots!! Especially that one of everyone with the car. Go--well, you know, that color next to green. ;)

July 17, 2008 at 9:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great pictures...esp the one using the puddle and the one in which Continuum looks so proud (and somewhat smug) as she is surrounded by her team. And she has every right to be proud (and smug)!

July 17, 2008 at 10:21 PM  

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Some Images From Scrutineering

Now that we are stationed in Sioux Falls we have access to high speed internet which means pictures can finally be posted. Enjoy this set from Scrutineering in Cresson, Tx.

Steve practices egress and works to ensure he can get out of the vehicle in under 10 seconds.


Our car at the Mechanical Scrutineering Station being inspected by Dick and Greg.


Continuum completes the figure eight test with Brooke driving.


Our support vehicles and safety procedures are even inspected during Scrutineering. Jim, the safety officer for the event, speaks with everyone in the lead vehicle before we simulate an emergency situation.


Continuum flies past one of the corner workers while on the track.


Continuum qualifies! Steve completed 60 laps in a row, making us the first team to qualify for the race.


Another great picture of Continuum on the track. This was taken just after we completed the 60 laps required to qualify.


Chito and Jeff Rogers sit in our pit awaiting a driver swap on the first day of qualifying.


John stands with Continuum as we prepare to enter the track.


Red River College provided a wonderful dinner for all the teams.


Minnisota and Michigan line up at the start line to begin the second day of qualifying.


Jeff Ferman and Alex Dowling chat while watching Continuum on the track.


Doug speaks with the Brooke as she drives Continuum around the track. Gerald stands in the background watching Continuum fly around the track.


Minnesota and Durham leave the track at the end of the second day of Qualifying.


Dean Wisniewski and his mother, Rita - both buy-a-cell sponsors join Chito and the team to watch qualifying. Dean heads our relationship with one of our gold sponsors, Visteon, where he works.


Our Base-X tents set up just before a storm hit. The tent on the left was used as mess hall and as a vehicle tent for work. The second tent on the right was set up for sleeping.


The night sky at the track immediately after the storm passed over.

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